Shield of the Cosmic Era
by lyokoMARVELanime
Summary: Captain America joins the fight for peace once again, as he's swept into another war after being in a cryogenic state for many years, but this time, he's fighting a war of massive, man-like weapons known as mobile suits that sprouts from the arguement of Naturals vs Coordinators. Discover a new story as the First Avengers joins the crew of the Archangel in the fight for peace!
1. A Living Legend's Return

**_Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, and all other forms of life and creature alike, welcome to another epic tale from lyokoMARVELanime Productions! And now, here's your host, the legend himself, lyokoMARVELanime!_**

 ** _AN: Thank you announcer dude! Hey guys, lyokoMARVELanime here, and we're coming at you with another crossover tale featuring the world of Gundam SEED!_**

 ** _Kira: You know, I didn't think we'd be doing another crossover with you so soon._**

 ** _Cagalli: No kidding. I mean, even though the Gundam SEED Prime series isn't finished yet, I figured that after it was, you'd want to take some time off from dealing with us._**

 ** _AN: Well what can I say? This idea has an impressive amount of merit, but I can't take all the credit for this one._**

 ** _Yzak: Why don't you just get on with it already! Some of us don't want to wait around all day to read about how in this story, while the_ Archangel _'s in Orb, you have them..._**

 ** _AN: DAH! SPOILER! AND IN THE FIRST CHAPTER OF A NEW STORY! SPOILER PREVENTION!_**

 ** _AXL999: I've got it! [hits Yzak with a taser]_**

 ** _Yzak: [Collapses in an unconscious heap, twitching uncontrollably]_**

 ** _AN: Ah, that's better. Anyways, allow me to introduce my partner in forming the basic founding blocks, and also the guy who is helping me to beta this story, AXL999, a self-proclaimed average Joe who has a good idea every now and then. Although, I'd say that this idea was more than simply good, but that's just me._**

 ** _AXL999: You're too kind, lyokoMARVELanime. Now shall we?_**

 ** _AN: We shall._**

 ** _Neither myself nor AXL999 own anything from any of the Gundam or MARVEL franchises or any other franchise mentioned in this story_**

* * *

 **Chapter 1: A Living Legend's Return**

The destruction of entire cities, whether it is through a natural disaster or some other cause, is a sight that many are lucky enough to have never seen in their lives, and that fact is especially true in a time of war, a time which the world finds itself caught up in once more in the year Cosmic Era 71. The fact that war can tear apart an entire nation and bring entire cities into a state of non-existence right before a person's eyes is something that no one would ever wish to see, and one would think that such a thing was avoidable if the city was out in space, but one young man had quickly found that was not true as he witnessed an entire space colony collapse right before his eyes. Kira Yamato was beyond simply horrified at what had happened to the space colony of Heliopolis, a place that he had called home for many years now, and he could still barely believe that his eyes were telling him that the colony was now nothing more than scattered rumble floating through the vast expanse of space. The colony was not even supposed to be involved in the war between Earth and the PLANTs since it was affiliated with the neutral nation of Orb, and yet the Z.A.F.T. forces had attacked it after learning that the Earth Forces were developing their own mobile suits, one of which Kira was now piloting due to a series of circumstances. He had honestly hoped that since Orb was neutral, neither he, his friends, or his family would be dragged into the horrors of the conflict that resulted from the disputes between Naturals and Coordinators, but now Kira could see clear as day that it required an insane amount of luck for people to truly remain unaffected by a war.

Kira was suddenly brought out of his musings on the matter when he finally registered that the Earth Forces vessel, the _Archangel_ , which his friends were all on after being saved by its crew, was calling out to him asking if he was alright, and he quickly responded that he was before slowly beginning his journey through the debris and back to the ship. As he was heading back though, the scanners in the mobile suit that Kira had ended up being forced to pilot, X105 Strike, suddenly began to ring out in alarm, and quickly pointed him towards a damaged Heliopolis lifeboat. Feeling that he could not leave the people inside there in the hopes that someone would come along and rescue them before something happened, Kira immediately guided the mobile suit over to the lifeboat and scooped it up in the Strike's arms so that he could bring it back to the _Archangel_ as well, only to stop when he picked up another signal.

Turning towards the source of the new signal, Kira was greeted with the sight of a smaller pod, which seemed to only be big enough to hold one person inside of it, and a moment later, he spotted the Earth Forces' logo on one side of said pod while on the other side there was some faded wording that Kira could barely read from his current position due to how worn it seemed to be. As soon as he had the Strike grab this object as well, Kira could tell that the pod was very old, technologically-wise, and even though he was now closer to it, the only thing he could make out in relation to the faded words was the word "Stark", a term that he was very familiar with, seeing as it was the industry of Stark Solutions that had helped in the development of many different modern day technologies, including the Mass Drivers and space colonies. Taking the fact that the name of one of the most famous technology development companies in history was printed on the side of this capsule as a sign of its importance, Kira figured that he definitely should not leave it floating aimlessly around out in space and elected to bring it back to the _Archangel_ as well, hoping that there would not be too much trouble because of his choices.

As Kira continued moving as carefully as he could through the debris from Heliopolis, he glanced at the pod he was carrying out of the corner of his eye and wondered aloud, "Just what is this thing anyways? Or for that matter, what was it doing way out here?"

* * *

It turned out that Kira's decision to bring back both the lifeboat and the pod had caused a small dispute between him and the _Archangel_ 's acting second in command, Ensign Natarle Badgiruel, but thankfully, Lieutenant Murrue Ramius, the acting captain of the ship, silenced all arguments between the two when she pointed out that they did not have time to argue over such small things in their current situation, given the fact that Z.A.F.T. was still close by and was likely to attack at any moment. When Kira had informed them of the additional pod that he had found among the debris, both women were quick to tell him to hurry aboard with the pod, and from their tone of voice when they did so, Kira could tell that they considered this object to be very important.

It was not until after Kira had reunited his friend Flay Allster with the rest of their friends from Heliopolis that Kira was able to finally inquire about the pod, at which point both Murrue and Natarle had already gathered around it along with Mu La Flaga and Kojiro Murdoch, the latter of which was checking the status of the pod. "What's the big deal with this thing anyways," Kira asked when he approached the four soldiers. "When I told you about the lifeboat that needed to be brought aboard, you made a big fuss, but when I mentioned this thing, you acted like it was some kind of important treasure."

"Well that's because in a way it kind of is," Mu replied with a smile. Kira just looked at the blonde man in confusion, leading Mu to elaborate, "Kira, it's not the pod that's important but what's inside of it. Or should I say _who's_ inside it."

"And who would that be," Kira asked.

"One of history's greatest heroes and soldiers," Murrue replied in a near reverent tone that was reserved for honored soldiers of history. She then looked to Kira and asked, "What do you know about the heroes of the Twenty-First Century?"

"Nothing much to be honest," Kira admitted. "Most of it just seemed like the stuff of comic books really, at least in terms of what I do remember. Like all that stuff about the legendary Avengers and S.H.I.E.L.D. The only thing that I never considered to be like that would be the history of Stark Solutions back when it was known as Stark Industries. Just about everything else I ever learned about that time just seemed like a total myth to be honest."

"A lot of people would like to think that," Natarle informed the young Coordinator. "The truth is all of that actually happened, and this thing here is living proof of that, at least for the moment."

Kira then glanced at the four, still feeling confused, which led Murrue to sigh and wave a hand towards the pod, indicating that she wanted Kira to approach it. Kira did as he was offered to, and upon seeing that there was some frost on the glass of the pod's casing, he slowly wiped it away, gasping in shock the minute after he had for his eyes were greeted with the sight of a white star on a red, white, and blue uniform, worn by a blonde haired man who appeared to be sleeping. "No way," Kira gasped. "That looks like…but it can't be. Is that really…?"

"Yep, it is," Mu replied. "Kira, this is Steven Rogers, aka Captain America, the First Avenger himself."

Kira was now most certainly shocked beyond belief. Captain America was a legend in the old comic books alone, and even more so in the history books, but to hear that the man himself was actually right in front of him was another matter entirely, one that words could not describe. After taking another glance at the sleeping man in the pod, Kira had to ask, "Why is he here, or how is he even alive?"

"Guess you don't know you're history that well," Mu shrugged.

Natarle then took the lead in the conversation, having thoroughly read up on Captain America and the exploits of other Twenty First Century peace keeping forces growing up, and explained, "Sometime near the end of that point in the Twenty First Century's history, during the event known as the Ultimate Battle of Heroes, it was discovered that the Super Soldier Serum that was used to make the captain who he is now had a serious defect: cellular degeneration. Even though he had incredible strength and skills, the serum was slowly tearing him apart from the inside, or to put it more simply, Captain America was dying. There was one way to cure him, but unfortunately neither the technology nor the exact procedure existed at that current time, so in order to preserve the captain's body until such a time came, Tony Stark placed Captain America in this cryogenic stasis pod so that the captain would still be alive. Unfortunately, a number of circumstances prevented further research from ever happening, and in the end, the procedure necessary to revive Captain America to full health remained undiscovered until Cosmic Era Fifteen."

"When George Glenn revealed the existence of Coordinators and released the information on the genetic engineering techniques for creating them onto the internet," Kira filled in for the ensign. "What does that have to do with Captain America though?"

"Despite the high levels of dispute and controversy against Coordinators, many people believed that something in the process used to give birth to said humans could be used to restore Captain America to full health, effectively bringing him back to life," Murrue replied. "In other words, in order to save the captain's life, he would have to be remade into a Coordinator, or at least something close to it. That's part of the reason why he was in Heliopolis, because the Atlantic Federation and all of its allies were doing everything they could to secretly bring Captain America back to life and make sure that he's ready for combat, should he decide to participate in this war."

"In other words, you were only doing all this just so you could attempt to get another soldier, not because you wanted to save a man's life," Kira accused the soldiers, throwing them an equally accusing glare as he did, showing just how little he approved of taking such an action.

"That may have been the intention, but we were still more than willing to let Captain America choose whether or not he became a soldier again, and we wouldn't force him to choose until after he heard all arguments on this matter," Murrue immediately reassured the young Coordinator. "The problem is, we weren't able to get the chance to even make an attempt at the process because of the Z.A.F.T. attack on Heliopolis, and the doctor who was supposed to perform the procedure had died in the attack. Even if we wanted to bring Captain America back, we wouldn't be able to because we don't have the necessary facilities on the ship or even anyone that specializes in the field to oversee the operation."

Kira fell silent at this point, thinking hard over all that he had just heard. The fact that such a great person had a chance to live again and have a peaceful life after everything he had been through only to have that chance snatched away was heartbreaking to say the least, and the fact that the genetic engineering used to create Coordinators could possibly save the captain's life also had the chance of showing people that the whole reason for the war between Earth and the PLANTs was foolish was also an added bonus. Kira soon found himself wishing that there was something he could do to help, but he knew nothing about medicine or genetics beyond the mere basics that just about anyone could know, so it was hard for him to find a way to help. That is until he thought of one thing in particular. "You said that something involved with creating Coordinators could save him, right," Kira asked, just to make sure he heard right.

"That's right," Murrue confirmed.

"Well then, what if I were to help," Kira offered. When he received looks of confusion, Kira quickly explained, "What if we used my blood to revive the captain?"

"A blood transfusion," Natarle exclaimed, a little shocked that Kira would suggest such an idea. "I'm not so sure that something as simple as that could work, even if it weren't for the fact that you are a Coordinator, Kira. I mean, there were only a few parts of the genetic engineering involved in creating Coordinators that pertain to reviving the captain, so I'm not sure that such a course could be any more successful."

"It's not like we have a choice at this point," Kira argued. "Like the commander said a minute ago, he and I are the only ones able to protect this ship, so if there's some way that Captain America could help, even if it's later on down the line, why not at least try to save his life?"

Kira did make a good point, but there was still one problem with his suggestion. "I'm no medical expert, but isn't it dangerous to give a blood transfusion to someone when you don't know if the two blood types are the same," Mu asked. "We don't know if Kira has the same blood type as the captain, so can we really take such a chance?"

"I'm Blood Type A," Kira then informed the group. "If that isn't at least close to an exact match, then we can forget I even suggested it. Otherwise, we should at least try."

Murrue and Natarle glanced between themselves before they finally agreed with Kira's suggestion, telling him they would check if it was possible after they were certain that they had escaped their pursuers, since they did not want the young man to be weakened due to having given blood if he had to launch in the Strike once again. It turned out that their hunch on that was correct, and Kira was forced to fight against the Z.A.F.T. Forces, who were now piloting the stolen G-Weapons, but thankfully, they somehow managed to make it through in one piece thanks to both Kira and in some small part to Kira's friends who had volunteered to help out on the _Archangel_ since the ship was short-handed at the moment. After the battle was over and Kira was given the chance to calm down from the rush he had felt from fighting in it, Kira and the _Archangel_ 's commanders visited the doctor that had come aboard with the refugees to see if Kira's idea of using his blood to revive Captain America had any chance of working.

When the doctor confirmed that it would work, at least in theory, Kira did not hesitate for a minute to let them take a bit of his blood to inject into the captain. When they finally moved to do so, the doctor was insistent on being close at hand in case something went wrong and so they opened the cryo-pod and injected the captain with the sample of Kira's blood. At first nothing seemed to change, as there were still signs of the cellular degeneration taking place, but a few minutes later, the process halted completely, and all of the captain's vitals became stable, indicating that it probably worked. Sadly, they would not know for sure until Captain America woke up, so they left him to rest, knowing that they would have to deal with any matters that arose at Artemis for the moment.

Unfortunately, it did not seem that business at the Eurasian Federation base would go so smoothly, as a moment after they had docked, the ship was locked down by Eurasian soldiers, and Murrue, Mu, and Natarle were brought to meet with the commander of Artemis. Though the allies of the Atlantic Federation claimed that they were taking these actions because the _Archangel_ did not have a proper identification code, it did not take a genius to figure out that they were only using that as an excuse for some reason. As soon as Commandant Garcia had confirmed the identities of the three commanding officers, he put up the appearance of being more than happy to try and resupply the ship as quickly as possible, but when Murrue warned him about the Z.A.F.T. ship that was still pursuing them, Garcia just waved it off and showed the three an image of the Laurasia-class ship as it floated just outside of Artemis's firing range, confidently stating that there was no chance of the Z.A.F.T. ship being able to get through Artemis's Lightwave Barrier, known as the Umbrella of Artemis.

After doing his best to reassure Mu and the two women of their worries that Artemis would be damaged should the _Archangel_ remain there for too long, Garcia summoned one of his other soldiers to escort the three to another room for the time being. Before they left though, Murrue thought that she should mention something important. "You should know that there's one other person aboard our ship that could help change the tide of the war," the female captain stated.

"And who might that be," Garcia asked.

"Captain America, and we have reason to believe that a recent operation has likely restored him to full life."

Garcia's eyes became nearly as large as small dinner plates when he heard that, and he finally rose up from his chair as he asked, "You're sure of this? You're absolutely sure that whatever operation was performed on him has brought Captain America back?"

"We can't be entirely certain at the moment seeing as he is still resting, as per doctors orders, but there is a very strong chance that is the case," Murrue nodded in reply.

Garcia looked Murrue dead in the eye, searching for any sign of deceit on the matter, and when he found none, he nodded in return and tapped a control on his intercom before saying, "Prepare to transfer the unit to the Atlantic Federation vessel, the _Archangel_. I want it onboard that ship with all of its armaments as soon as humanly possible." He then looked back at the three confused officers before he smirked and asked, "You didn't really think that you were the only ones preparing for the return of the great Captain America, did you?"

The three just nodded in acceptance of that and then allowed themselves to be led out of the office and to another room in the base, indicating that Artemis's personnel had no intention of allowing them to leave anytime soon, and leaving the commandant to think over the recent developments that he had been witness to.

* * *

A short while later, it seemed that the Laurasia-class ship had given up and left, giving them reason to shut down the barrier as soon as the ship was a good enough distance away, leaving Garcia to deal with a new problem that had arisen in regards to the Strike. Apparently, the pilot of the mobile suit had put a lock on its activation program, keeping anyone other than the pilot from using the suit. That was why Garcia and some of his men were now on the _Archangel_ looking for the pilot. "Who among you are the pilot and mechanic of the mobile suit aboard this ship," Garcia asked the people that had been rounded up into the common area. When no one replied, Garcia just smiled and said, "There's no reason to be so secretive. We simply feel privileged to be granted the opportunity to see it before it's officially announced. Now who's the pilot?"

"It's Lieutenant La Flaga," Murdoch then said after he pushed Kira down when the boy tried to stand and speak up. "If you have any questions then why don't you address them to him?"

"We've been carefully monitoring all the previous battles you've fought. Somebody was handling the Zero and its gun barrels. There's only one person capable of such a feat and that's him," Garcia then revealed before his gaze moved to Kira's friend Miriallia. The commandant then roughly pulled Miriallia to her feet and commented, "I never imagined a woman to be assigned to pilot such a mobile suit, but it occurs to me the captain of this ship is a woman, so…"

"Ow," Miriallia cried out as the commandant pulled on her arm a little more, giving Kira more than enough reason to finally shrug off Murdoch and stand up.

"Cut it out! You're just a bully," Kira shouted. "You want to know who was piloting it? It was me!"

Garcia looked Kira up and down for a minute before he finally released his hold on Miriallia and walked over to Kira as he said, "Well young man, I admire your sense of duty in protecting the girl, but that machine wasn't made for someone like you to operate. Get serious twerp!"

Garcia then took a hard swing at Kira, but the younger man was quick to react to Garcia's attack, and dodged the blow before grabbing the offending arm and throwing Garcia over his shoulder, onto the floor. "I haven't done anything to deserve you getting angry and hitting me," Kira told the Eurasian soldiers as they started to move and attack him in retaliation.

Kira's friend, Sai then tried to intervene, but ended up getting bashed aside into Flay's arms for his efforts. Seeing Sai hurt caused Flay to speak up as well, saying, "Would you stop it? He's telling you the truth! That boy is the pilot!"

"Would you kids give it a rest," one of the soldiers told the redhead as he grabbed Kira by the scruff of his shirt.

"I'm not lying to you," Flay said, despite any protests that Sai or the others gave to her. "If you really must know, that boy is a Coordinator!"

That was all it took for Garcia and his men to stop in their assault on Kira, while also eliciting groans of disbelief from the _Archangel_ crew and Kira's friends at how clueless Flay's choice of actions were. After that, Kira was lead by Garcia and the other Eurasian soldiers to the hangar where the Strike was secured, and where the pod that Captain America was in was resting close by. As he approached the Strike, Kira noticed that a second mobile suit had been brought aboard the ship. The suit in question had a similar design to the Strike's but instead of being dull grey, it appeared to be colored in a red and blue color scheme with some white in a few areas, such as on the handles for the beam sabers that were held on either side of its waist. The suit's head also had a red, v-shaped antenna over its eyes, while the helmet of the machine was also colored white, and right in the center of the machine's chest was a silver, five-pointed star.

Kira filed the questions on the new mobile suit away for later as he stopped in front of the Strike and asked, "You want me to remove the lock on the OS, right?"

"For starters," Garcia smiled as he tuned out the confused mutterings of his people that were in the hangar, which had started up as soon as Kira had spoken. "But I'd imagine that you're capable of doing many other things. For example, you could analyze this machine's design and build more like it, or perhaps you could even come up with a weapon that's effective against this type of mobile suit."

Kira did not take more than a second to realize what Garcia was implying, and he immediately argued, "Look, I'm nothing more than a civilian student. I'm not a soldier and I'm not some military contractor like Stark Solutions used to be years ago. There's no reason why I'd have to do any of those things!"

"But you're already a traitor to your fellow Coordinators, are you not," Garcia then countered, immediately silencing any protests or arguments Kira had after he had said that. "I have no idea what your reasons were, but regardless, you did betray your own people, didn't you, and so by rights…"

"You're wrong," Kira interrupted, finally finding his voice again. "I did it because…"

"A Coordinator siding with the Earth Forces makes you very valuable," Garcia then interrupted the boy. "There's nothing to worry about. I assure you that someone like yourself will be made welcome, even in Eurasia."

Kira then glanced at the new mobile suit before he asked, "If you really need me to make more of the Strike, then what's the deal with that red and blue suit over there?"

"That's not something you should concern yourself with at this time," Garcia waved off before he motioned to one of his men.

Kira was not given the chance to say anything else, as he was soon strong armed into the Strike's cockpit. With no other option, Kira simply started working on his machine while a soldier held a gun to him. Kira was deliberately working slowly as a way of stalling until the entire base suddenly began to shake under the force of an explosion, immediately grabbing Garcia's attention. Seeing his chance, Kira immediately kicked the soldier who was holding a gun to him away before hitting the control to close the Strike's cockpit, but unfortunately, it did not close quickly enough, as another soldier was quick to grab him and then pull him out of his machine, throwing him to the floor as soon as he did. "You little traitor," Garcia snarled as two of his men restrained Kira.

"Let me go," Kira shouted. "Don't you see that we're under attack? I don't have time for your nonsense, just get these guys off me and let me get in the Strike!"

Garcia was not about to hear any of it, and instead hit Kira across the face, and since Kira was unable to stop it this time, all he could do was cry out in pain. Garcia then slammed another fist into Kira, not caring about anything other than taking his problems out on someone else at the time, but he immediately stopped when he heard someone other than Kira cry out in pain. Everyone then turned their attention to see, much to their shock, that one of Garcia's men had moved over to the pod that Captain America was inside of while no one was paying attention, and that same man was now unconscious at the feet of none other than said captain himself. What was also clear was that not only was Captain America now awake, he was very pissed off. Garcia's men were still frozen in their surprise, so they were easily dealt with when the captain suddenly lunged and took down three of them with a swift combination of attacks. When Garcia and his soldiers finally did react, they found that they should have been smart and ran off instead of trying to attack the captain, for they were soon either knocked out or sent flying across the room in response.

Cap then leapt back over to the pod, reached inside a compartment that was just above where his head was resting, and pulled out a circular, red, white, and blue shield with a silver star in the center, which he then threw at all of the soldiers that were just switching the safeties on their guns off. Garcia then tried to placate the captain by talking him down, but the blonde man was not going to hear any of it, and instead slammed his shield into the commandant and held him down and said, "No one likes a bully, especially me."

The captain only caught a quick glimpse of Kira floating up to the Strike before said mobile suit had started up and then moved to the launch deck, and it was not until all that was done that he finally released Garcia and kicked both the commandant what few of his men that were still onboard off the ship. As he was floating away, Garcia threw a small glare to the captain that hid just a small amount of joy as he said, "I sincerely hope that you do enjoy the Patriot, Captain. After all, it was designed for you."

Cap was not entirely sure what the commandant had meant by that, but he did not have time to think on it when he felt the ship suddenly shake under another explosion. Looking around, it did not take long for him to locate the three commanding officers of the ship, running through the hangar and up to some other point on the ship, and he immediately called out, "What's going on out there?"

When the three heard him, they all looked at him in surprise for a moment until Mu shook himself out of it for a moment to say, "The base our ship's currently in is under attack by enemy forces."

"Is there any way I can help," Captain America then asked.

"Not unless you can figure out how to pilot that red and blue machine over there in a few seconds," Mu replied as he and the two ladies resumed their trip back to the bridge.

The former World War II soldier looked up at the machine Mu had indicated, thinking that it was what Garcia was referring to when he mentioned the Patriot, and quickly leaped towards it, allowing the zero gravity environment to carry him up to the cockpit's hatch, which he quickly climbed through. Cap looked over the controls of the machine for a minute, testing out a feature or two here and there before he smiled and said, "Seems a lot like the controls for the Quinjet." He then turned on the machine completely, which brought up a series of words on the main screen, but Cap only found he had time to read what the first letter of each word spelled out. "Gundam?"

Feeling that it was a detail he should not worry about at the moment, Steve just guided the machine over to where the Strike had disappeared to and fired the Patriot's thrusters so that he could fly up to where Kira was currently fighting the Blitz. As soon as he was close enough, Steve had the Patriot throw a powerful left hook that knocked the black mobile suit away from the Strike, effectively throwing the pilot of said machine into confusion both due to the blow and the appearance of the new mobile suit. "Where did that one come from," the Blitz's pilot asked in bewilderment.

The only answer he received was the Patriot pulling out one of its beam sabers and charging in along with the Strike, as the latter readied the Anti-Ship Sword it was carrying for another attack. The battle quickly became very easy for the Strike and the Patriot, seeing as they had their opponent outnumbered and thrown off-guard over the fact that the _Archangel_ had a second mobile suit aboard it, and it was not long until the Blitz was forced to finally retreat when an explosion in the base gave him more than enough reason to pull back for his own safety. Captain America was about to give chase when a female voice called out, _"Kira, Patriot, come back! The_ Archangel _is launching!"_

"Roger that," Captain America replied as he fired a few rounds from the Patriot's Vulcan guns on the Blitz as a way of discouraging the pilot from getting any ideas, before he followed the Strike back to the ship, already preparing the list of questions he had about his current situation for when he returned.

* * *

After Kira had brought the Strike in and secured it in the hangar, he found that all he wanted to do was return to his room and be alone for a while. Garcia's words may not have technically been true, but they still rang out in his mind enough to cause Kira a lot of grief, so it was understandable when Kira did not stop to acknowledge Mu when the mobile armor pilot had called out to him. Kira was just at the door that led out of the hangar when he felt a hand on his shoulder, prompting him to finally acknowledge someone else's presence and turn to said person, only to gasp in surprise when he saw who that person was.

There, standing before Kira with a comforting smile on his face, was none other than Captain America with his mask down, revealing his blonde hair underneath it. Kira only looked at the captain in surprise for a few more minutes until said soldier finally said, "You did good work out there, son. It may not have been easy, but if it weren't for you, this ship would've been in real trouble. Nice job."

Kira allowed a small smile to grace his face at the captain's compliment before he nodded in thanks as Mu floated over to them. "I don't mean to interrupt, Captain, but I think you should speak with our ship's captain as soon as possible," Mu informed his fellow blonde.

"I was just about to ask about that actually," Cap said. "But first, perhaps you can tell me how long I had been asleep for this time around. I really hope it was just seventy years like the last time."

Mu had to shake his head in the negative as he revealed, "I'm afraid it's a lot longer than that, Captain. The Twenty-First Century has been over for much longer. You've woken up to the year Cosmic Era 71."

Captain America showed no outward sign of how he felt about this information beyond simply nodding and requesting that Mu lead him to where the _Archangel_ 's captain currently was, leaving Kira to continue on his journey to his room with his thoughts still ringing with Garcia's words the entire way.

* * *

 ** _AN: So there you have it. Captain America is back and is already kicking butt and taking names in the Cosmic Era. Even though this did not help Artemis survive, it was not really planned for it to survive, mostly because I never did like the guy who was running Artemis. Like Kira said, he is a bully, and he was also an overconfident punk who decided to pick on a nice young girl, ie Miriallia, just because he was being a little greedy. Hence the beat down that he was dealt by Cap._**

 ** _Kira: So, what's the deal on the Patriot Gundam? You know armament-wise and all that?_**

 ** _AN: Well in terms of appearance, you'll find an image of it in the cover art for this story. As for armaments, we'll be going into that in the next chapter. Until then, Onto the Preview!..._**

 ** _The captain is brought up to speed on the events of the present day, as members of the_** **Archangel** ** _crew all brief him on the events leading to where they currently are from their points of view, and quickly decides to join Kira as the ship's second mobile suit pilot, effectively becoming soldier once again. When the_** **Archangel** ** _travels to the Debris Belt, they all find themselves in the ruins of one of humanity's darkest days, which would lead anyone in Captain America's position to truly wonder if they had made a difference. Next time on Shield of the Cosmic Era…_** **Chapter 2: Histories and Songstresses** ** _. Brace yourselves for the knowledge you are about to acquire Gundam and Captain!_**

 ** _Please read and review, and I'll see ya next time, Gundam believers!_**


	2. Histories and Songstresses

**_AN: Hey guys, we're back with the second chapter of my newest crossover with Gundam SEED, and you're now about to find out the answers to some of the questions you've been wondering._**

 ** _Kira: Hope we get some more answers on Cap's history in this chapter._**

 ** _Athrun: Personally I'm kinda excited for some of the stuff from the MARVEL Universe we'll see later on down the line._**

 ** _Yzak: You mean like how Cap's going to train..._**

 ** _AN: DAH! SPOILER! [pulls a lever, and a massive stink bomb goes off on Yzak]_**

 ** _Athrun: Oh, dude!_**

 ** _Kira: Well at least it's not as bad as it was the last time this was used._**

 ** _Captain America: Um, should we be concerned about that? [indicates Yzak, and everyone cringes]_**

 ** _Yzak: What? What is it?_**

 ** _AN: Nothing. Don't look in the mirror._**

 ** _Yzak: Why? [looks anyway to see he has lizard skin] AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHH!_**

 ** _AN: I told you NOT to look in the mirror! Seriously, why do you people always look in the mirror when I tell you not to?!_**

 ** _Yzak: I'm a lizard! I'm a hideous lizard monster! [gets whapped in the head by lyokoMARVELanime] Ow!_**

 ** _AN: How many times do I have to point out the fact that lizards shed their skin?_**

 ** _[Yzak starts peeling off the lizard skin]_**

 ** _Captain America: Is it supposed to...?_**

 ** _AN: No, there's still some bugs that need to be worked out. I don't know why it's taking so long. Let's just get on with the story._**

 ** _I do not own anything from any of the Gundam or MARVEL franchises or any other franchise mentioned in this story._**

* * *

 **Chapter 2: Histories and Songstresses**

In all honesty, Murrue Ramius was not sure what she should expect for when Captain America finally woke up, but she did know that the last thing that she was expecting was for him to immediately jump into action during the trouble they encountered at Artemis and effectively help save both their ship and Kira. That does not mean she was not grateful for what the captain did, but if she were being honest, she actually would have liked to have given him a much more peaceful awakening over one that had him dodging bullets and fighting mobile suits a mere few seconds later. Still, what had happened could not be changed now, and now all that was left was to wait for when she and Natarle finally spoke with the super soldier on his situation, and then discussed what he would do now that he was awake.

It seemed that discussion was going to come much sooner than Murrue was expecting though, as not five seconds after she had finished thinking about the upcoming conversation with the legendary hero, Mu had come onto the bridge with Captain America himself right behind him, and while the crew members that were currently on the bridge were shocked and quickly holding hushed conversations upon seeing him even after stopping to salute him, the captain actually seemed much more calm about his situation than the _Archangel_ 's captain would have expected. She then had to remind herself that Captain America had been through a similar situation once before, so it was probably not all that surprising that he was handling the situation so well, more than likely because he was probably expecting to wake up in a distant future that seemed like an entirely new world compared to his previous one. Murrue then finally looked to the captain, and gave him a salute of her own as she said, "Welcome to the bridge of the _Archangel_ Captain Rogers. I'm Lieutenant Murrue Ramius, the ship's acting captain, and I'd like to thank you on behalf of the crew for your assistance in our previous encounter with Z.A.F.T."

"No need for thanks, soldier," the captain replied as he waved a hand as a way of saying that she could stand at ease. Murrue then took the time to look over the captain's suit, and saw that it was most certainly like the red, white, and blue suit that the world had long since associated with Captain America, but she could also see that there were a few differences, like the red lines that bordered the top portion of the star on his chest, his gloves were mostly dark brown, fingerless with patches of red all across them, with his boots being the same style in terms of coloration while including some black, and his mask seemed more like a combat helmet. Another thing Murrue noticed was that on either shoulder was a red and silver, decorative letter "A" that she knew was the emblem of the team known as the Avengers, and he also wore a pair of brown straps that provided a harness for his shield on his back. The final thing was that his gloves seemed to hold a set of panels on the outer sides that seemed to shimmer, indicating that they served some sort of special purpose that she decided to discover later on after they had talked.

Natarle then brought her commanding officer back to the situation at hand, as she said, "Is there anything specific you'd like to know about your current situation, Captain? Anything involving current events or your old friends, family, and allies?"

"I didn't really have any family when I had to become a Cap-sicle once again, Miss…" Captain America replied, trailing off at the end since he did not know the black haired woman's name at the moment.

"Oh, I beg your pardon," Natarle apologized. "I'm Ensign Natarle Badgiruel; the _Archangel_ 's acting second in command."

"A pleasure Ensign," the captain nodded in thanks. "As for the rest of your question, I wouldn't mind hearing the full details of your ship's current situation along with anything else pertaining to it. I'd rather leave anything concerning old friends for a later time when we're not so obviously in a state of combat. Is there any chance we could discuss this somewhere else on the ship, though? I can't help but feel that the bridge isn't the best place for such a conversation."

"Of course," Murrue nodded. "We can talk in the mess hall if you'd like, and perhaps get you something to eat as well. I'm sure you're hungry after being in your condition for so long, but given our current level of supplies, I'm not sure if we'll be able to provide all that much."

Cap replied that Murrue's suggestion was fine, and the _Archangel_ 's two commanding officers left Mu in command of the bridge before leading him out the door and to the area that the ship's captain had suggested. Mu honestly had to smile as he moved to take a seat in the chair next to Neumann, knowing that having the First Avenger around was definitely going to make things a lot more interesting on the ship, even with their current situation of not being properly supplied.

* * *

Around the same time, Rau Le Creuset and Athrun Zala were just arriving at the PLANTs when the masked soldier received a communication that held an update on the Earth Forces vessel that his team had been pursuing. When Le Creuset had fully looked at said report, he saw that it stated that there was now a second mobile suit with the Legged Ship, and that it seemed to be just as powerful an opponent as the X105 Strike. After seeing a few images of the new unit, Le Creuset was certain that they had only seen the tip of the iceberg with this new machine, which was exactly why he did not hesitate to add it to the report that he and Athrun would be giving at the inquiry that they would soon be attending.

Le Creuset and Athrun had just left their ship for the shuttle that would take them to the PLANT capital when they found that there was an additional passenger traveling with them. "National Defense Chairman Zala, we hope you will permit us to accompany you," Le Creuset said in greeting to the man as he and Athrun both gave said individual a salute.

"No formalities here. In point of fact, you never saw me on this shuttle," the chairman waved off before turning his gaze to the blue-haired boy standing next to Le Creuset. "Do I make myself clear Athrun?"

"Yes of course," Athrun nodded in reply. He then adopted a softer look as he added, "It's been a while, Father."

Chairman Zala nodded in reply to his son, and with that, the two soldiers soon took a seat as the shuttle departed from the docks. "Needless to say, I wholly agree with the opinion you expressed in the report," Athrun's father then told Le Creuset once they had gotten underway. "The fundamental issue is we had evidence showing they had secretly developed these advanced mobile suits. We'll forget all about the pilot. I took it upon myself to omit that section."

"I'm grateful to you. I felt confident that you would make such a sound decision," Le Creuset smiled in response to this, while Athrun just looked up in confusion.

"Just think of the reaction if they learned that the pilot of the one remaining machine was a Coordinator," Zala then went on to say. "Such an admission would only delay our efforts while we had to listen to the moderate factions argue, needlessly."

"Wouldn't you also find it unpleasant to have the report refer to your _friend_ as someone who switched allegiances to the Earth Forces," Le Creuset then asked Athrun, already knowing what was running through the boy's head.

Athrun honestly did not want that information to be revealed, but at the same time, he still felt that it was important. The fact that he and Kira were old friends made Athrun honestly believe that he could convince said boy to come with him to Z.A.F.T. instead of remaining with the Earth Forces, and Athrun wanted to do that more than anything. Still he had to remember that he had promised the masked commander that if he could not convince Kira, he would shoot him down personally, so Athrun was a bit on the fence about the omission of that detail from the report, unsure if it really was wise to withhold such information. "The Earth Alliance has created an advanced mobile suit that performs beyond the bounds of anything we had imagined possible, even with a Natural piloting it," Athrun's father then stated, pulling the boy from his thoughts. "That's what the report will say. Do I make myself clear Athrun?"

"…Yes Father," Athrun finally replied after a minute, though still feeling a bit hesitant on the matter.

"We must take a much more serious approach to this situation. It is the only way to bring a quick end to the war," Chairman Zala then said.

"And what of the information that I had sent you on the new machine that was just recently confirmed to be with the Earth Forces," Le Creuset then asked the chairman.

"You mean the red and blue one," Zala clarified. "I have a few thoughts on that machine, but they seem a little far-fetched, if not still at least plausible." He then paused for a minute before asking the two a question that neither soldier had been expecting. "Tell me, what do you two know of Captain America?"

"The War World II soldier and later hero of the Twenty First Century team known as the Avengers," Athrun asked. When his father nodded in reply, Athrun continued on by saying, "I just know that he had disappeared for some reason or other sometime near the end of that era in history, and that it had something to do with the super soldier serum that had made him what he was. Why do you ask, if you don't mind my asking, Father?"

"I know that you are both aware of this, but there had always been rumors that the Earth Alliance had been looking into ways of reviving Captain America from his slumber, along with ways to incorporate him into their forces should they succeed," the blunette's father stated. "Given the recent development and the appearance of the new machine, I think it might be likely that they had succeeded. The machine did bear a bit of a resemblance to him from what I had read in the report, and I'm well aware that's not really much to base a hypothesis on, but we can't rule out any possibility."

"Sir, if I may, if what you're suggesting is true, what if we considered approaching the possibly returned Captain America with our side of the story," Le Creuset offered. "After all, he is not that much different from us Coordinators, if I remember the history books correctly."

"As entertaining an idea as that is Le Creuset, I wouldn't hold my breath on the matter even if it is true," Zala admitted, though he would not deny that such a thought was alluring to say the least. The three then spent the rest of the trip in silence until they had finally arrived at the Supreme Council chambers and went their separate ways for the time being.

* * *

The _Archangel_ 's mess hall was pretty empty aside from the four kids who had volunteered to help out on the ship and Flay, who was trying to keep a bit of distance between herself and Sai since she had been unable to take a shower the previous day due to the water restrictions, but they were soon joined by Kira who had recently finished doing some work on the Strike, though that was also rather difficult due to the water shortage as well. Flay had taken the opportunity to apologize to Kira for what she had said back at Artemis, but Kira was quick to wave it off like it was no big deal before grabbing his own meal and joining his friends, all the while thinking about how serious a problem the ship was facing due to the water shortage. Before anyone could say anything to one another though, the door swished open once again, and the six students were greeted with a sight that shocked them all into silence.

The fact that the _Archangel_ 's first and second in command were both there for a break was surprising on its own, but it was the third person who had walked in that really grabbed their attention, for it was none other than Captain America himself. The captain had glanced around the room for a moment before his eyes landed on their table and he had to smile a little at the sight of Kira, and he quickly walked over just as Kira was standing up and said, "If I remember right, you and I met down in the hangar just a little while ago. I don't think I ever did get your name, son."

"Uh…Kira, Kira Yamato, sir," Kira replied, reasonably nervous over the fact that he was speaking with a living legend.

"Good to meet you Kira, and please, call me Steve," the captain then said as he exchanged a handshake with Kira. "Would it be alright if we joined you and your friends?"

"Sure, of course," Kira immediately replied, and when Steve cast a glance in Murrue and Natarle's direction, making sure that he was not stepping out of line in asking such a thing, the two immediately nodded in response and quickly sat down with Kira and the others.

"So we won the battle and saved the world, right," Steve then asked the two officers, picking up on where they had left off, referring to the Ultimate Battle of Heroes.

"Yes, thanks in large part to you and the Avengers," Natarle confirmed.

"And groups like A.I.M. and HYDRA are gone now? This time for certain," Steve then asked.

"Well unless they decided to join together and change their name to Blue Cosmos, it certainly seems that way," Murrue confirmed. "I just wish that things were as peaceful as you likely would've been hoping they would be now, Captain."

Steve just sighed a little in response to this before he admitted, "In all honesty, the first time I went under, the world was at war, and when I woke up they said we won. I guess the fact that waking up this time to find that the world was at war again is a little bit disorienting compared to that, but I can't help but feel like it feels familiar to me, being a soldier and all. To be honest, it's the reason for this war that has me more confused than anything."

Both Murrue and Natarle had to nod in consent of that, having briefed the captain on all the events of the Cosmic Era up until now, especially in the case of the war between Earth and the PLANTs, as they too sometimes felt that the war between the two sides was a bit strange to say the least. They were all brought out of their musings when Tolle suddenly cut in and asked, "Uh Kira, who is this guy that seems to have you so star struck and is talking like he's just learning about all this stuff now? I mean has he been sleeping for the past few years or something, because this isn't exactly big news."

"Tolle, show a little respect," Kira snapped, surprising all of his friends with his reaction. "This 'guy' is Captain America of the Avengers from the Twenty First Century, and he's been in cryogenic stasis for years now."

Kira's friends all looked between him and the indicated blonde before Sai finally smirked a little and said, "Very funny Kira. Captain America and the Avengers are all just some crazy story that they try to sell in history class. I mean there's no way that the world was threatened by some alien invaders and saved by a pair of assassins, a god, a monster, a soldier, and some billionaire with too much free time on his hands."

"You'd actually be right about that," Steve then cut in. "Really, Hawkeye and Black Widow may have been assassins at one point, but when the Avengers formed they were actually two of the world's best spies. Thor wasn't actually a god, but rather someone from a highly advanced civilization which ended up inspiring the stories from Norse Mythology. Now, Doctor Banner and his other side weren't really monsters, just misunderstood heroes that people were easily frightened by because the Hulk was always so angry. I can't really say much in the defense of Stark though, considering how many armors he had built by the time we had last spoken."

Sai immediately dropped his smirk and was now just staring at the captain in complete, dumbstruck surprise, while the others were all just looking at the captain in shock as well. Miriallia was the one who eventually broke the silence and asked, "So…you really are Captain America?"

"Indeed I am, Miss," Steve nodded in reply. "You know, I think I had actually spoken to you in that previous battle. You had told me and Kira to return to the ship when it was leaving the base, right?"

"Uh…yes sir," Miriallia replied. "I'm Miriallia Haw. It's an honor to meet you, Captain."

"Likewise Miss Haw," Steve said as he exchanged a handshake with Miriallia before receiving introductions from Tolle, Sai, Kuzzey, and Flay as well. Steve then looked between Kira and his friends, at least the ones wearing military uniforms before he then added, "Aren't you all a little young to be serving on a warship though?"

"Probably," Sai admitted. "But we're not soldiers. You see, the ship was short-handed and we wanted to do whatever we could to help out after they had saved our lives during an attack on our home, Heliopolis, and it was also because Kira was already doing so much to help make sure we made it through."

"I see," Steve smiled. "So I guess you're the kids that Lieutenant Ramius had told me about."

"Yep that's us," Tolle nodded in confirmation, acting as though he were saying something to be proud of when he did not even know what it was that the _Archangel_ 's captain had said about him and his friends.

Steve then looked to Kira and asked, "And I heard that you're one of those…'Coordinators', was it?"

"Yes, that's right," Kira admitted with a small smile. "I'm actually a first generation Coordinator, meaning my parents were Naturals, and we had been living on Heliopolis as Orb citizens for a few years because we didn't want to end up on either side of the war."

"I see," Steve nodded, truly understanding where Kira was coming from, having seen more than enough people who had a variety of reasons for not wanting to enlist to fight in a war in his lifetime. Just from looking at Kira, Steve could tell that even though this boy was a Coordinator, he was no different from any of the other kids at the table, and he truly was not someone who would want to fight if he could help it, so Steve was easily becoming more confused as to why the war the world was caught up in was still going on at all than he was before.

Tolle then broke the seriousness of the moment by falling into a small lapse of fan-boyhood as he asked, "So is it true that you can actually control your shield with your mind?"

Steve had to chuckle a little at this before he replied, "I'm not sure where people got that idea from, but no, I'm not telekinetic. Actually, I just have a highly advanced tactical mind that allows me to think several steps ahead in a situation, and that allows me to predict how to throw my shield in order for it to rebound and eventually return to me. Although, I do have some special features in my suit that made it a little easier, courtesy of Tony Stark."

"Like what," Kuzzey asked, as everyone was now really invested in what sort of things that the captain's suit could do.

Steve then raised one of his gloved hands up so that everyone could see the panels on the side and asked, "You see these panels here? Tony designed these to act as electromagnets that are directly focused on my shield, allowing it to return to me more easily, and the suit itself is actually my most durable one, seeing as it can stand up to one of Iron Man's repulsor blasts."

"Can you show us how it works," Sai then asked, hoping that the answer was yes.

Steve just smiled and nodded in reply before removing his shield from his back and walking around to place it on the nearby, vacant table, and then moving a reasonable distance away. Everyone watched for a minute as the captain then raised one of his arms and flexed his fingers a bit, before the panels all lit up with a soft, blue light, and the next thing they knew, the shield was flying right up to his arm, latching onto it as soon as it was close to him. Everyone could only stare in wide-eyed wonder, prompting a smile to reach the captain's face as he sat down again. Steve then looked over at Kira and removed the shield from his arm before he asked, "Would you like to try it out for yourself, Kira?"

Kira looked up in shock at the captain's question, and after the captain nodded in reply to his unasked question, along with some encouraging whispers from his friends, Kira finally reached out and accepted the legendary, iconic shield of the First Avenger, holding it like it was a delicate object as he did before finally slipping it onto his arm. Everyone then watched as Kira looked at the circular disk for a minute before Steve encouraged Kira to try a few different fighting moves with it, and the minute he received that okay, Kira began to spin the arm with the shield out in a variety of attacks and moves that he had seen Steve pull off in the hangar before finally coming to a halt. Kira then looked over to Steve with a small smile as he said, "It's a lot lighter than I had thought it would be."

"I'd be a little surprised if it was otherwise," Steve said as Kira handed the shield back to him. "It's made of an alloy known as vibranium, which is stronger than steel and a third of the weight, while also being completely vibration absorbent. When it was first made back in World War II, the metal was so rare that this right here was all we ever had. Of course, that was not the case in the Twenty First Century, but all the same, the shield is still one of a kind in its own way."

"So Captain, I'd hate to bring this up now, but given what you now know, what do you plan to do," Murrue then asked, effectively ending all further conversation.

Steve honestly had to pause for a minute as he looked around at the five kids. Given all that he had heard about the world both from these kids so far and from the two officers, Steve was honestly a bit unsure of where he should stand if he were to take part in this war, but then again, it was not really hard for Steve to see himself participating in the war at all. For the longest time, he had been a soldier, always fighting for some just reason or cause, and at this point it was really hard for him to see himself settling down and living a peaceful life because of how he had always been fighting in one way or another. With this in mind, Steve was not all that surprised, nor would he ever question why he had responded in the way he did, when he said, "If possible, I'd like to join your crew, Captain Ramius. After all, if I remember correctly, aside from young Kira here, the only other person capable of fighting outside of your ship in battle would be Lieutenant La Flaga, so if I can help out somehow, I'd like to. I'm not sure if the world still needs Captain America, but I'd still like to do what I can."

Murrue smiled in response to this along with Natarle, and while he was not all that fond of the fact that the captain was so willing to join the fight again, Kira could not help but smile a little as well over the fact that Steve was going to join the fight. Kira then perked up and remembered something from earlier, and immediately pulled out a small data tablet that he had been carrying to hand to Murrue as he said, "Captain, Chief Murdoch wanted me to give this to you. It's the data on the new unit that was transferred to the _Archangel_ back at Artemis."

Murrue held a hand out in response to this as she said, "I believe that you should be giving that to Captain Rogers, Kira. After all, it is information on his machine."

Steve nodded to Murrue in thanks for this and accepted the tablet from Kira before he began to read aloud from it. "The GAT-AX 001 Patriot," Steve said as he looked over the tablet. "Built with the same basic armor and armaments as the X105 Strike, aside from the two beam sabers that it carries as opposed to Armor Schneider combat knives. The armor itself is just as powerful as the Phase Shift armor that was utilized in the other X-number mobile suits, and the alloy it uses is also found in the optional shield. The shield has also shown to be laced with a vibranium alloy to increase its durability to being nearly indestructible, even against a powerful beam weapon or even a positron cannon. The final additional armament to the Patriot would be the rifle-sword known as the Flag Saber. This weapon doubles as both a long-range beam rifle and a solid, blade weapon for close combat, and is made of the same indestructible material as the shield. An optional beam system can be used to enhance its capabilities, much like how the anti-ship sword of the Sword Striker pack works, but the beam system is only optional." Steve looked over the notes he had just read aloud, along with some of the other specifics, seeing that the Patriot was actually very versatile, almost being just as flexible as a human being was, before he finally commented, "Well, it certainly looks like they weren't kidding when they said that the suit was designed for me. I just wish I knew what gave them the idea I would want to use a sword like this Flag Saber."

Everyone just shrugged in response to this, admittedly not knowing where the idea had come from either, before they all resumed having their small lunches in silence until Tolle asked Steve to tell them about some of his adventures in the days of the Twenty First Century, which the super soldier was more than happy to do. This served as a rather decent distraction from the real problem the ship faced in the way of supplies, but it did not hide the fact that they still needed to do something about said problem soon if they really wanted to make it to the moon while they were still alive.

* * *

The _Archangel_ crew eventually found something of a solution to their supply problem when Mu suggested that they take a detour through the Debris Belt, as the area was full of the remains of destroyed battle ships and other such things that likely still had the supplies that they would need which they could salvage. Some people were not all that comfortable getting their supplies in such a way, as it felt like they were desecrating the remains of the people who had died in the vessels that were destroyed in an indirect way, but they still accepted that if they did not do so then the ship's crew would not last very long, never mind the refugees. So with these facts well in mind, they all agreed to only take what they were in immediate need of, the basic necessities, and not to take anything that belonged to others, and now all they had to do was make sure the teams that would be gathering the supplies were ready for anything.

Once they had arrived at the Debris Belt, Kira and Steve had launched in their respective mobile suits, with Captain America wearing a new helmet that had both the eyes and the mouth areas covered by a blue glass structure, effectively making it able to provide the captain with a helmet that he could wear in the vast, airless void of space while still being in the same style as the rest of his uniform, and they then watched as the rest of Kira's friends, Natarle, and some other members of the _Archangel_ 's crew head out in a number of pods that they could use to gather the supplies. Unfortunately, they were all met with a sight that none of the ones who were most familiar with the Cosmic Era's timeline wanted to see.

From his perspective, Steve found himself looking at what appeared to be the remains of a large, artificial continent, around which were the scattered remains of vehicles, buildings, and even a few bodies of people that were all once a part of it, but given how Kira and the others were reacting, it was far more than just that. "What is this," Captain America finally asked, softly.

"This is the largest memorial ever created throughout human history in Space," Natarle informed the captain in horrorstruck softness. "And the largest cemetery you would ever find as well."

"The remains of Junius Seven," Kira finished as he looked around the ruins from the destroyed PLANT in horror.

Steve was not sure just how great the significance of this place truly was, but from the way that Kira and Natarle had spoken, along with the soft gasps of shock he heard over the radio both from the _Archangel_ and the other pods, he could tell that it was likely something that served as a reminder of something truly horrible. He then brought the Patriot to land on the surface of the ruins along with the Strike and some of the pods, and he quickly grabbed his shield, checked to make sure that his helmet was secured and its oxygen mask was activated, and then climbed out of his mobile suit to join Kira, Natarle, Miriallia, and Tolle as they searched the area. The first thing they found though was not pleasant sight, as they had found themselves stumbling upon a house in which they found the remains of a woman and child.

The sight of such a horrible thing caused Miriallia to immediately panic and freak out a little, prompting Tolle to comfort her as he looked on warily at the sight himself while Natarle and Kira could only stare in barely repressed sorrow. Looking over at Steve, Kira could see that the super soldier was actually staring with a neutral expression as his lips were pressed in a thin line, and he felt the need to ask, "Doesn't this bother you?"

Steve looked at Kira for a moment before he answered, "I've been a soldier far long before you were ever born, son, and I've seen horrors that would drive any normal man insane, ranging from hostile alien invaders, psychotic AIs, and Masters of Evil, and that's just the tip of the iceberg. The things I had seen that were carried out in HYDRA Bases were probably some of the worst. At this point, it takes a great deal for me to be shaken by sights such as this, but that doesn't mean that I don't find it horrifying or sickening."

Kira could only nod a little in response to this, as he could tell by the solemn tone that the captain had used that Steve was not lying even a little. It honestly terrified Kira to think of the horrors and atrocities that Captain America had seen in his days, but more than anything, it saddened him to think that he had seen them so often that they had very little outward effect on him. Looking closer though, Kira could see a righteous anger burning in the captain's eyes mixed in with great sorrow and grief, and could tell that it was affecting Steve much more than he was really letting on to.

When they eventually finished their survey and determined what supplies were where, they returned to _Archangel_ to report on their findings, and they were all extremely sad to say that the only water that they could locate was the hundred, million tons of ice frozen over on the remains of Junius Seven. As Mu had put it, no one was shouting "Hurray water" over this, and Kira was hoping that there was still some way they could avoid taking the water from there, but in the end, it was clear that they had no choice, so the teams immediately began gearing up to gather the water from the colony remains. As they were returning to their mobile suits, Steve and Kira spotted Flay and the other refugees making some origami flowers to cast out onto the ruins as a way of showing respect to those lives that were lost on the PLANT, and it prompted Steve to ask Kira the very question that had been bothering him since they first spotted the colony. "What exactly happened to this Junius Seven PLANT," the super soldier asked when he was sure no one was in earshot besides him and Kira.

Kira looked down in solemn sadness as he replied, "It was about three days after the war broke out, when a small fleet of Earth Alliance ships launched an attack on the PLANTs. One of the carriers had been carrying some escort ships with nuclear missiles, and one of them was fired on Junius Seven, killing 243,721 lives in an instant. The story is that a member of the anti-Coordinator group known as Blue Cosmos had actually slipped the missile aboard as a way of showing the PLANTs that they meant business, but it made little difference, as it couldn't bring back the lives that were lost in what became known as the 'Bloody Valentine Tragedy', which served as a rallying point for the people of the PLANTs. As a result, the PLANTs launched a series of Neutron Jammers into the Earth, which rendered all nuclear powered technology useless, ensuring that nukes would never be used again."

Steve was truly horrified by this news, as he knew that even when they were dealing in the weapons business, the Starks would never have allowed such weapons to find their way into the hands of people that would do such things if they could help it, and not only that, but from what he had seen, it was clear that Junius Seven was meant as an agricultural colony with no military facilities whatsoever. To hear that such an atrocity had been committed honestly made Steve wonder just how far people were willing to go in this war simply because they had been divided in a way that had just recently come to exist. It honestly made him wonder if all the battles he had fought for freedom and peace in were truly worth the sacrifices that were made by him and so many others just thinking about it.

* * *

All thoughts on Junius Seven had dimmed after Miriallia had thrown the origami flowers out across the remains of the PLANT and everyone had set to work on collecting the ice that they needed for sufficient water supplies, but it did not help deal with the fact that everyone still felt rather bitter about having to do such a thing to the remains of the place that had suffered such a great tragedy. Despite how everyone felt, they were still more than capable of carrying out their assigned roles, including Kira and Captain America, who were flying around the area that the teams were located at in their mobile suits, just as a precaution against any possible enemy attack. As he glanced around the area, Steve could not help but continue to think on how terrible the world had become after hearing about the Bloody Valentine, and it had honestly made him think that maybe he was a little too quick to join up with the Earth Forces since he had yet to hear the other side of the story for this war. Still, it did not change the fact that he was with the _Archangel_ , and the closest thing he could get to hearing the other side of the story was talking with Kira, so Steve tried to keep it from bothering him too much as he continued his patrol.

Steve's search eventually led him to spot a white and green ship which looked much newer than any of the other destroyed vessels in the Debris Belt, and from what he could tell, it was obviously not a military vessel, so he was more than content to leave it alone for now until his proximity alert went off. A minute later, he had pulled the Patriot behind a large rock as he had immediately spotted a Z.A.F.T. GINN flying around the ship he had just spotted, and from what the World War II veteran could tell it seemed like it was a reconnaissance-type machine. He had to wonder for little bit as to what such a machine was doing all the way out in the Debris Belt scanning such a vessel, but he knew that it was not important right now, as the moment the suit spotted the _Archangel_ , the pilot would call for backup and they'd be finished, so he quickly readied the Patriot's Flag Saber's rifle mode and quickly locked onto the target so that it would be ready to fire the moment that the GINN gave the slightest indication of spotting them.

For a moment, nothing happened and it seemed that the Z.A.F.T. mobile suit would not spot them, but unfortunately, one of the shuttles that had been gathering the supplies they needed suddenly passed into the suit's line of sight, and that was reason enough for Cap to open fire, taking out the enemy unit with just a few quick shots. _"Patriot, what happened,"_ Mu called out from the _Archangel_.

"I spotted an enemy unit surveying the area nearby, and it had spotted one of the shuttles as it was returning to the ship," Steve reported. "I had to take it out before it had signaled its allies of its location and summoned reinforcements. I'd recommend we hurry our operations here along just in case it was able to send out a distress signal though."

 _"_ _Roger that,"_ Mu replied before he ended communication with the captain.

 _"_ _Thanks Cap,"_ Kuzzey's voice then called out from the shuttle that Steve had just saved.

 _"_ _I seriously thought I was about to die,"_ Kuzzey's partner, Chandra then added in thanks as well.

"Don't worry about it. Just hurry back to the ship," Steve told the two before he closed the communication channel. Steve then prepared to turn his mobile suit around and return to the ship himself when his sensors picked up another signal, this one seeming to be an S.O.S. signal, and he immediately turned the Patriot to the source. When he spotted it, Steve immediately called the ship again saying, " _Archangel_ , this is Captain Rogers in the Patriot. I just picked up a distress beacon and spotted what appears to be a life pod of some type that seems to be the source."

 _"_ _Any life signs,"_ Murrue asked.

Steve did a quick scan of the pod before he replied. "Yes. One life sign aboard. What're your orders, Captain Ramius?"

Steve sat in his mobile suit with his only response being silence for a few minutes until Murrue finally replied, _"Bring it in. We can't leave someone out there in the hopes that they'll be rescued later on, especially since the Debris Belt would likely cause some damage to the pod the longer it's there."_

"Roger that," Steve nodded in reply, and he quickly scooped up the pod so that he could bring it back to the _Archangel_ , hoping that whoever was inside it was in one piece.

* * *

"It seems you're not the only one with a penchant for bringing in things that have been left behind, Kira," Natarle commented to the Coordinator sometime after Cap had brought the life pod aboard the ship and everyone had gathered around it to see what would happen when they finally managed to open it. Thankfully, their scans had not detected any signs of the pod being a trap, so there was no reason to not open it up, but that did not stop Natarle from insisting that they have soldiers ready to act in case the person inside was hostile. What they discovered coming out of the pod when it first opened was a small, spherical robot that was consistently saying the word "Haro" over and over again just before a distinctly female voice said, "Thank you. I appreciate your assistance."

The gathered members of the _Archangel_ Crew immediately turned their attention back to the pod to see a beautiful young woman about the same age as Kira and his friends, with long, pink hair, pale, cerulean eyes, and wearing an extravagant dress had emerged from the pod, and the mere sight of this woman, and her brilliant smile had immediately rendered everyone speechless, but none more so than Kira. The young Coordinator was so awestruck in fact that all he could do was reach out and grab her hand to stop her momentum as she flew through the zero gravity environment, much to her gratitude. The young woman then spotted the symbol that was on the sleeve of Kira's uniform and exclaimed, "Oh my, this wouldn't happen to be a Z.A.F.T. ship, would it?"

That threw everyone for a small loop, with only Natarle face-palming in frustration, until Steve stepped forward and replied, "No ma'am, it's not, but we had detected the distress signal from your pod and immediately decided to help. My name is Captain Steve Rogers, and you are?"

"Oh, my name is Lacus Clyne," the young woman replied as she caught the small robot that was in the pod with her. "And this is my friend Haro. It's very nice to meet you Captain Rogers."

Steve nodded in reply to this, before he stated, "Would you mind if the commanding officers of this ship and I ask you a few questions, Miss Clyne?"

"Not at all," Lacus nodded in reply, and she soon left with both Steve and the three ranking officers of the _Archangel_ , but not before giving a small wave to Kira, which immediately led said boy to gain a small blush before he turned away in nervousness. Steve could only smile when he caught a glimpse of this, but he could not help but feel that Lacus Clyne's arrival on the _Archangel_ was likely to cause a few more problems for the ship later on down the line.

* * *

 ** _AN: Well there you have it. Chapter 2 is done. In case it was unclear, the Patriot has a shield that is just like Cap's shield, as you can see in the title image, and it's last armament is a sword like the GN Sword that the Exia from Gundam 00 uses. That was a last minute addition I added simply because I thought that it was suitable to include it._**

 ** _Yzak: [finally finishing removal of lizard skin] You know, there really wasn't that much history in this chapter._**

 ** _AN: Well that depends on what type of history you're looking for. Also, in case it's not obvious at this point, much of the MARVEL universe in this story will be similar to that of the MARVEL cinematic universe for the most part, with some small additions that make it a MARVEL universe that's a bit unique to this story. This is reinforced by the fact that Cap's suit is like the one he wore in Avengers: Age of Ultron, with the helmet being altered a bit to be similar to the one he wears in MARVEL Disk Wars: The Avengers._**

 ** _Athrun: What about that moment over at Z.A.F.T. and the PLANTs? They seemed to catch on to the fact that Captain America is back pretty quickly._**

 ** _AN: Well technically they only suspect that Cap's back in action based off the data they obtained from Nicol's confrontation with the Patriot. The only one from Z.A.F.T. that actually knows anything about it being true at the moment would be Lacus, even if she doesn't seem like she recognizes it. Also, I wanted to show that the reasoning behind this war is something that is very confusing for Cap in this chapter based off of what he has learned so far, and having Kira explain the events of Bloody Valentine is just one way I thought would help with that._**

 ** _Kira: Speaking of which, why'd Cap end up being the one who found Lacus's pod?_**

 ** _Athrun: What? You upset that you didn't get to be her knight in shinning armor this time around?_**

 ** _Kira: Sh-shut up Athrun!_**

 ** _AN: Ahem, the reason for that was because finding Lacus's pod ties directly into the fact that Kira had to shoot down a GINN, and I thought that it would be better to avoid Kira having to feel like he had added more blood onto his hands than he already feels like he has. Since Cap's a soldier, he's dealt with that kind of thing plenty of times before, so he's able to deal with it more easily than Kira could._**

 ** _Captain America: Well I think that covers everything for now, so let's move on for now._**

 ** _AN: Onto the Preview that is!..._**

 ** _The story of Lacus Clyne is revealed, and it is not long afterwards that Steve is able to witness just how great the prejudice between Naturals and Coordinators is for certain individuals when he finds himself observing the encounter between Lacus and Flay. Shortly after, the captain experiences his first real battle in the Bloody Valentine War, as he and Kira are forced to launch and assist a fleet of ships that had been sent to rendezvous with the_** **Archangel** ** _. Can the hero of World War II and the Twenty First Century hold his own in a battle of mobile suits, mobile armors, and space ships, and just how far will things go before everything is settled? Next time on Shield of the Cosmic Era…_** **Chapter 3: Horrors of the New Age** ** _. Show the true strength of your combined might Gundam and Captain America!_**

 ** _Please read and review, and I'll see ya next time, Gundam believers!_**


	3. Horrors of the New Age

_**AN: Hey everybody, lyokoMARVELanime here with another exciting installment of Shield of the Cosmic Era. We've got a lot going on this time around, and there's no shortage of drama or action here. Or at least, I'm hoping there isn't.**_

 _ **AXL999: Hey this is only the first few chapters. There's more to come later on.**_

 _ **AN: Can't argue with you there, AXL my man.**_

 _ **Yzak: How about you two just stop yapping and get on with it. I'd like to get to the point where the story really gets interesting some time this century. You know, the part where Captain America meets...**_

 _ **AN: DAH! SPOILER!**_

 _ **AXL999: Well...night Yzak! [shoots Yzak with a couple tranquilizer darts]**_

 _ **Yzak: [snoring loudly like an elephant]**_

 _ **AN: Well, let's get on with things then, shall we?**_

 _ **Neither myself or AXL999 own anything from any of the Gundam or MARVEL franchises or any other franchise mentioned in this story.**_

* * *

 **Chapter 3: Horrors of the New Age**

There was only one word to describe Steve's current thoughts at the moment: bewilderment. The reason for this was actually the young woman by the name of Lacus Clyne, because the entire time he and the _Archangel_ 's commanding officers had been speaking to her, she honestly did not show even the slightest hint of being afraid like most people would in her situation. Most would think that it was probably because she was not completely aware of her situation, but Steve could tell that Lacus had at least a little bit of an idea about what was happening around her, even if it did not seem like it, so Steve had to believe that Lacus was either really good at hiding how afraid she really was behind a cheerful voice and a small, yet bright smile or she really was as happy and hopeful as she seemed to be no matter what happened to her at least normally. The entire time they had been talking to Lacus, she had not once shown any sign of being frightened of them and only smiled and talked like she was speaking to some good friends, answering all their questions with very little hesitation.

During that conversation, they learned that Lacus's ship had actually been out in the Debris Belt doing a survey of the Junius Seven ruins for a memorial ceremony that the PLANTs were apparently planning to hold in a few days when they suddenly came into contact with another Earth Forces ship. After the crew of said ship had learned of why Lacus's ship was out there, an argument had started and quickly escalated to the point that one of the crew had placed Lacus into the life pod for her own safety. Lacus was not aware of what had happened to the other crewmembers of her ship after that point, but Steve and the other officers did not want to tell her that the ship was destroyed and she appeared to be the only survivor. That did not mean they could hide it from her, so they had the unfortunate duty of telling Lacus of the news, which did seem to put a damper on her happy mood for a few minutes until she smiled a little once again and said that she would be sure to pray that they would have a peaceful rest, something that actually brought a smile to Steve's face as well, because it truly showed that this girl really cared a great deal for others regardless of who they were or where they were from.

After that, they left Lacus in her room to rest, locking the door due to the fact that she was technically a prisoner aboard the ship even if she was a civilian, and then left things there. During the conversation, the fact that Lacus was apparently the daughter of the leader of the PLANTs had quickly come up, which told Steve that he needed to hurry up in his research on the current events in the area of politics and that Lacus would no doubt be considered as a valuable asset to the Earth Forces. Given that Lacus was the daughter of someone in such a high position in the PLANTs, it honestly would not surprise Steve that the Earth Forces would quickly use it to their advantage in ending the war, and the mere thought of using a civilian girl like Lacus as a hostage did sicken Steve, but as a soldier he was more than able to understand that such things were likely to happen and were unavoidable unless something happened that allowed them to return Lacus to her people before they reached the Lunar Base.

Such thoughts had been plaguing Steve's mind quite a bit, keeping him from doing much good work, so he decided to wander the corridors of the ship for a bit in order to clear his head. It was not much of a peaceful stroll, as the word had quickly spread through the ship that Captain America was alive, well, and now a member of the ship's crew as well as the ship's newest mobile suit pilot, so nearly every time he encountered a group of people, those same people would stop and stare in awe and wonder at him while sometimes whispering in astonishment over the fact that they had actually seen him. Steve could not help but smile a little at how highly all these people seemed to regard him despite the fact that he was supposedly just a legend to the people of this era, and while he did not mind the attention, he would be lying if he said that he did not honestly wish he had something to wear at the moment other than his uniform that so many people recognized. Natarle and Murrue had both offered to let him have an Earth Forces uniform, but Steve politely declined saying that he preferred his own uniform over anything else if he had to wear a uniform at all. Still, he would not deny that some casual clothes would be rather beneficial, at least in the way of allowing him to wash the red, white, and blue suit or if he wanted to avoid such attention.

As these thoughts and others ran through his mind, Steve suddenly spotted a sudden dash of pink in the hallway, and upon glancing up, he saw that Lacus had actually left her room and was now looking around the ship. This actually surprised Steve, as he was sure that the door to the pink princess's room was locked, but he quickly shook it off as something to wonder about later and immediately moved to lead her back to her room. He had almost caught up to Lacus when he heard what sounded like an argument coming from the mess hall, and from the sounds of the voices, it did not take long to figure out that the ones arguing were Miriallia and Flay. Seeing that Lacus was headed in that direction, Steve elected to hang back a little and see how the argument would play out.

"No way. I'm not gonna go anywhere near a Coordinator," Steve heard Flay say in a tone that clearly meant she would accept any arguments. A minute later, that tone of voice became a little quieter, so he was not able to hear what she had said next, but he could tell that she did say something.

"Flay," he then hear Miriallia snap in reprimand.

There was another moment of silence before Cap heard Flay say, "You're different Kira, I know that much for sure, but that girl is associated with Z.A.F.T." This served to tell Steve that Kira was in the room as well, but was more than likely just keeping quiet and staying out of the way as best as he could, even as Flay continued on with her small rant. "Coordinators…they're not only smart, but they're gifted with other things like better reflexes. What would happen if I were attacked? Right?"

"Flay Allster," Miriallia then snapped again.

Steve ended up tuning out the rest of the conversation as he heard Kuzzey step in and try to reason with Flay, for what little good it did when he noticed that Lacus had just reached the entrance of the mess hall. Before Steve could do anything, Lacus had already spoken up, getting the attention of all four of the kids in the room and silencing the argument completely, clearly indicating that she was the source for the conversation and the subsequent argument. "I apologize if I caused a commotion," Lacus said, thinking that her sudden appearance was the cause of all the worry that the four were going through. "I was just thirsty and really hungry, that's all. Would this be considered the dining room? I'd be very grateful for a bite to eat."

"Hey, hold on a minute," Kira told Lacus, trying to get her to stop before she ended up doing something to further upset the situation, though it did not seem that Lacus heard him.

"This is nuts. Who would let someone from Z.A.F.T. wander on her own," Flay demanded, none of them noticing when Steve had moved to stand in the doorway and look on what was happening.

"But I didn't mean to leave without permission. I even called out so that one of you might hear me," Lacus insisted, quickly demonstrating how she had called out and what she said immediately afterwards. Steve just barely suppressed any need to laugh at the girl's actions, as it did seem rather ridiculous, but he could do nothing about the amused smile that reached his face. "Let me assure you, I am not with Z.A.F.T.," Lacus then continued. "Z.A.F.T. is the name of the forces. You see, it actually stands for Zodiac Alliance of Freedom Treaty."

"That makes no difference! You're still one of those Coordinators," Flay shouted over Lacus just as she was finishing, causing Steve's smile to instantly vanish and be replaced by a solid frown of disapproval.

Lacus did not seem to let this bother her though as she calmly argued, "There is a significant difference. You're right of course that I'm not a Natural like you, but I don't belong to the forces." Lacus then paused to take in Flay's appearance before she slowly added, "And you're not with the forces either, are you? So if you think about it, you and I are the same."

Steve had to admit that the girl's logic may have seemed naïve to some people, but in reality it was actually very accurate, as from what he had heard, Flay's father was a person in the Earth Alliance's government as well just like Lacus's father was, so there really was not that much difference between the two. He found that such an assumption was much more wrong than he could have realized when Lacus tried to introduce herself and extended a hand of friendship to Flay, only for the redhead to immediately shout out, "Just keep your distance! You must be nuts. Why should I shake hands with somebody like you? I don't want any of you Coordinators acting friendly with me!"

That was enough to stun everyone into frozen silence, as it seemed that Flay had forgotten just how much of an effect such a statement would have on Kira, while the girl herself simply huffed and turned away, clearly not caring if she had hurt anyone's feelings while never realizing that her words and actions were only getting a certain super soldier all the more angry. She quickly found out the latter fact soon enough when Steve finally made his presence known and leveled a very angry look at the redhead before he slapped her, much to everyone's shock. "That was out of line," Steve scolded. "If you don't want to like an enemy force then that's fine, but don't take it out on the people that make up most of it, or the civilians who happen to be on the same side. More importantly, I was under the impression that such childish prejudices were dropped years ago, but it seems that the world hasn't changed as much as I thought. The only difference is that there's one more prejudice than there used to be."

Steve then paused for a moment to let that sink in, but it did not seem to be doing so all that much, at least in the case of Flay, while the others were clearly thinking over his words with much attention. Steve then took Flay's stubbornness as a sign to continue as he added, "This young lady has done absolutely nothing to antagonize you, and yet you just decide to lash out at her over something that was beyond her control. Doing something like that only makes you into nothing more than a bully, and I doubt I need to tell you that no one likes people like that. Now, I suggest you apologize to our guest for your actions and your attitude, and I expect you to do more than simply say it like you mean it."

Flay just stared at the captain like he was out of his mind for a minute before she turned away and silently sat back down in her seat, clearly saying that she was going to make no such apologies, so Steve just sighed in irritation before looking from the untouched tray of food, to Lacus, and then finally to Kira before he walked over to the young man and said, "Mind helping me escort Miss Clyne back to her quarters? I'm sure she'd appreciate the company."

Kira silently nodded to Steve before grabbing the tray of food that was meant for Lacus and then following the captain with Lacus out of the mess hall, leaving Miriallia and Kuzzey to deal with Flay in the meantime. In truth, Kira was rather grateful for Steve's intervention and for what he did, as Flay's words did hurt him quite a bit, much more so than they seemed to have Lacus, but that was likely because Flay was supposed to be one of Kira's friends like Miriallia and the others while Lacus had only just met the redhead. Still, he had to admit that he had not expected Captain America to stand up for Coordinators like that, especially when you add in the fact that he slapped Flay, but after thinking about it for a minute, it began to seem like less and less of a surprise, as he had heard Steve tell Garcia back at Artemis that he did not like bullies, and this just proved that he clearly meant it. Seeing that Captain America disagreed with the way Flay and likely others acted towards Coordinators in general made Kira feel that maybe others would take that as a sign that something was wrong with that kind of attitude sometime in the near future, but at this point it was only something to dream about.

"Must I stay here in this room again," Lacus suddenly asked, bringing Kira out of his thoughts, as he realized that they were now in Lacus's room without him even realizing it. Looking over at Steve, he saw that the super soldier had a small, knowing smirk on his face which led Kira to think that Cap had gotten the wrong idea about what Kira was previously thinking of a minute ago.

Kira just gave a mental shake at Steve's suspicions before he smiled at Lacus and said, "Yes, you have to stay."

"That's just no fun," Lacus protested. "I'm all alone here. I'd much prefer to enjoy my meal over there while talking with everybody."

"I'm afraid that wouldn't be possible Miss," Steve informed Lacus. "This ship belongs to the Earth Forces, and from what I've seen, there's a lot of people who don't place a high regard on the status of Coordinators whether they're soldiers or civilians."

Kira wished that Cap was wrong about that, but he could not deny what the facts were, so he felt that he had to add, "Simply put, the two sides are enemies."

"That's a shame, don't you think," Lacus asked as Haro bounced up into her lap. Neither Steve nor Kira responded to her thoughts, but they did not deny that it was true either, which led Lacus to smile and say, "But so far the two of you have both been very kind to me. I'm grateful."

Steve nodded in reply to Lacus's thanks for that while Kira just blushed before he shyly revealed, "Well…you see, the truth is…I also happen to be a Coordinator."

"Is that right," Lacus hummed in response. "Well, you know the reason you are kind. It's because you are you." Kira immediately perked up a little at this, which made Lacus feel that he had cheered up a bit, which gave her the opportunity to ask, "If you don't mind, would you please tell me your name?"

"Uh…I-it's…it's Kira. Kira Yamato," Kira stuttered while absently raising a hand to the back of his neck in nervousness, much to Steve's amusement.

"Well thanks so much Mister Yamato, and you too Captain Rogers," Lacus nodded in reply to both.

"It's our pleasure Miss Clyne, and please, call me Steve," the super soldier insisted.

"Very well then. In that case, you can just call me Lacus," the songstress told Steve, to which he nodded in acceptance before standing up and moving to leave along with Kira. As soon as they had walked out the door, they saw Kira's friend Sai approaching, clearly appearing as though he were looking for one of them.

"Miri told me what happened," Sai revealed, bringing a damper on Kira's previously uplifted mood. "Don't let get to you, okay," Sai then reassured his friend. "I'll have a talk with Flay later."

"You can if you'd like son, but sooner or later that young lady is going to have to face the harsh reality that her attitude is only going to ostracize her from others or even lead her to do something she will more than likely regret later on," Steve told Sai. The glasses wearing boy just looked at the captain in confusion, not entirely understanding what he meant, but Steve did not have the time to explain at the moment as he did have work to return to after he got a small meal for himself as well.

The three men were all about to leave when they suddenly heard a very beautiful singing voice ring out from Lacus's room, drawing all of their attention as the song that was being sung continued. In Steve's opinion, it was a rather lovely tune, and it was quite clear by the way that Lacus was singing that her whole heart was in every single word as she sung. This fact seemed to be noticed by Kira as well, as he soon gained a peaceful smile after listening for a few minutes, until Sai suddenly spoke up. "What a beautiful voice," the young man said. "But I wonder, is that voice the result of fiddling around with her genes?"

"I doubt that, son," Steve immediately argued, grabbing both boys' attention. Seeing that the two were confused, Steve just smiled and remarked, "Clearly you never heard that a lot of singers from the Twenty-First Century were rumored to never use their actual singing voices, at least in the case of the ones that were in movies, and such. You don't need to tamper with genetics to have a good singing voice or be good in anything. Sometimes you just have to be that naturally gifted or put in a good deal of effort in order to be that good."

Kira smiled in thanks to Cap for his comment, knowing that Steve had said it as a way to prevent him from feeling a little upset by Sai's previously voiced thoughts, and then joined both his friend and the super soldier in returning to the mess hall so that they could eat as well before returning to their duties.

* * *

By the time that Kira and Steve had finished eating their meals and returned to the hangar to do some maintenance work on their mobile suits, the _Archangel_ had long since left the Debris Belt behind. By the time they returned to the ship's hangar, news had spread throughout the ship that the _Archangel_ had received a coded message from the Earth Forces' Eighth Fleet, which said that they were sending an advance fleet to meet up with them. Kira was very glad to hear this, as it meant that the _Archangel_ would soon receive the crew members that it had been lacking for so long and that soon enough he would no longer have to worry about piloting the Strike and killing anyone like he was another soldier ever again. If he were being honest though, Kira was actually a little sad that his adventure on the _Archangel_ would soon be over, but only because he was just getting to know Steve as more than just the legendary Captain America, and he would not deny that being able to spend time just talking to said legend was also really cool. The only other real reason he would have for wanting to stay with the _Archangel_ though, was that there was also a chance that he would see his friend, Athrun Zala again, especially considering that the last time they met was during that last battle they had before the ship had reached Artemis, but neither reasons were enough to make Kira even consider fully volunteering to fight in the military.

Steve actually understood that Kira did not want to stay with the military and that the young Coordinator would be more than happy to leave the _Archangel_ and the life of a soldier behind the first chance he had unless given a good reason not to leave, so he did not begrudge Kira for his wish to no longer keep fighting while hoping that Kira's fight would be over when they finally met up with the advance fleet. Still, Steve could not help but feel that there were some things on Kira's mind that the boy probably thought he could not resolve unless he stayed with the _Archangel_ , but since such matters would be of a personal nature, Steve did not bother to pry. This was also partially because Steve had a bad feeling about what would happen when they finally made it to the rendezvous point, a feeling that he could only associate to ones he had during some of his toughest battles in the past, and he did not want to worry the young man more than necessary.

Despite not wanting to worry Kira, Steve still felt that he should at least make sure Kira did not start making any plans to depart so soon, knowing that things could drastically change in an instant during a war, so that was what led him to float over to the Strike's open cockpit where Kira was working diligently on the mobile suit's OS and then wait for Kira to pause before saying anything. "What's up, Cap," Kira finally asked after a couple of minutes.

"I just thought I should let you know that even if there is a chance that this will likely be the end of the war for you, it would be a good idea to make sure you're ready to launch again just in case, even if it is only for one last time," Steve told the young man.

Kira stared at the captain in silence for a minute before he finally nodded in reply and began to continue his work. Steve was about to turn and move away when Kira suddenly asked a question that made him pause for a minute. "Do you think I should stay and keep fighting? Some of the others around here seem to think I should, so I was wondering if you thought the same thing as well," the young man said.

Steve looked back at Kira, and it did not take more than a minute after making eye contact with the young boy for Steve to realize that Kira was really desperate to know what he honestly thought that the Coordinator should do. To be honest, Steve had not had as much experience with either watching or fighting alongside Kira to really give that much of an honest answer outside of that battle at Artemis, so he found it a little hard to answer Kira's question based off of how well Kira could fight, but that did not mean that Steve did not have an answer at all. Steve let the silence between them linger for another minute before he finally replied, "When I was trying to enlist in the army back in the days of World War II, I wasn't the super soldier you see before you now, but even so, I wasn't doing it because I felt I had something to prove. I was doing it because there were men laying down their lives and I felt I had no right to do any less than them. Not only that, but I didn't enlist because I wanted to kill anyone. I just didn't like bullies no matter where they're from, and that same fact is still true today. If you want to keep fighting then that's your decision and no one else's, and if anyone disagrees with that decision then that's their problem. Whatever you decide, I'll support you in that decision and I'll honestly think that your decision will make you stronger in one way or another."

Kira thought over the captain's words for a minute, letting them run through his head as he processed them, until he finally looked Steve in the eye again and nodded in thanks before returning to his work while Steve did the same in the case of his own mobile suit. When Kira finally finished he left the hangar to return to his quarters and start gathering up his things for when he and his friends finally departed, while Steve on the other hand kept working. This was not because Steve was not skilled enough to handle doing a little programming, it was just not at the same level as Tony Stark or some of the other geniuses he had ever known so he was a bit slower than Kira or any of those others were. When he finally did finish, Steve moved to the locker room where all the pilot suits were kept so that he could run a quick check over his equipment, demonstrating just how much of a vigilant soldier he was to any who saw this, and he was just finishing up with polishing his shield when the ship's alarm sounded and he heard an announcement saying, _"All hands, Level One battle stations. I repeat, all hands, Level One battle stations."_

Steve may have been confused by why the ship was preparing to go to battle stations, but he was not so confused that he did not listen right away, so he quickly grabbed the helmet he wore the last time he went out in his mobile suit, activating the blue visor that allowed him to use its built-in oxygen mask as soon as it was strapped on, slid his shield onto his back, and immediately jumped into the Patriot. As soon as he was strapped into his mobile suit, Steve immediately contacted the bridge and asked, "What's going on?"

 _"The advance fleet is under attack by Z.A.F.T.,"_ Miriallia reported to the captain while Steve quickly began running through the Patriot's start-up systems. _"Despite receiving orders to retreat from the area, the captain decided that we would engage the enemy, seeing as we recognize the Z.A.F.T. Forces that were attacking as the ones that have been pursuing us since Heliopolis and who stole the other prototype mobile suits that the Earth Forces were developing."_

"Understood," Steve replied as he felt his machine being moved over to the catapult, where it would be equipped with its usual armament before launching. "What's the enemy's fighting strength?"

 _"I know this may not mean much to you, Cap, but the enemies you'll be facing are a Nazca-class ship, a number of GINNs, and the stolen mobile suit that's known as the Aegis,"_ Miriallia reported. She then paused for a moment to give Mu the all-clear to launch before speaking to Cap again, saying, _"Steve, Flay's father is with the advance fleet, so please make sure you all do your best to make sure that…"_

Steve looked at Miriallia for a moment, understanding what the girl was asking him, but he knew all too well that nothing in war was ever guaranteed, so he did not intend to make any promises on the matter and simply replied, "I'll do my best to make sure we save as many people as we can, Miriallia. That's all I can promise."

Miriallia nodded in acceptance of this and allowed for Steve to finish making all the final checks on his mobile suit's launch preparations. When the super soldier was finally ready and Miriallia confirmed that the way was clear, Steve closed his eyes for a minute, mentally preparing himself for the battle ahead which would officially see him entering another war, and then snapped his eyes open once more as he announced, "Steve Rogers, Captain America. Patriot is launching now!"

A minute later, the red and blue machine was soaring the air alongside Mu's Mobius Zero mobile armor, with the Strike following up from close behind them, all of them ready for the battle that lay ahead.

* * *

As much as he hated to admit it, Athrun was finding the battle a little too easy for his liking. He could not argue what Kira had said to him a while back when the two had met once again back at Heliopolis, as he truly did hate everything about war, but he felt that he had to fight as a soldier after he lost his mother at Junius Seven, and that was why he was now a Z.A.F.T. red that was sent to secure the Earth Forces mobile suits that were being developed at Heliopolis. He knew full well that their actions had inadvertently caused the collapse of the colony, and they never intended for that to happen, but it still did and there was nothing that could be done about it now. Truthfully, he wished that they were not dealing with this battle at all, as their original mission was to search for and locate Lacus after her ship went missing.

Athrun was especially worried about the pink songstress, as the two of them were engaged to eventually be married, so he was really hoping that nothing would keep him or the ship he was assigned to from doing everything they could to find her, but when their sensors had picked up the small fleet of Earth Forces vessels, it did not take long for Commander Le Creuset to figure out that the fleet was sent to meet up with the Earth Forces Legged Ship, and since it was a serious target for their forces and his team, Athrun could not deny that ignoring this would be unwise, so now here he was, piloting the Aegis against a small fleet of enemy ships and mobile armors that were barely able to hold a candle to what was once their own machine and the rest of the Z.A.F.T. mobile suits that were with them.

Athrun was just about to bring the red mobile suit around to take out another target when his proximity sensors suddenly went off, alerting him to something that was heading his way. Athrun barely had time to so much as turn when he was suddenly hit a red, white, and blue blur, knocking him off balance just as it rebounded between some of the other GINNs and did the same while occasionally causing some to lose their grip on their weapons. When the blur finally stopped, it had ended up returning to the hands of the blue and red mobile suit that he had heard about in the report from Nicol and the others, revealing the blur to be a large shield that was colored red, white, and blue with a silver star in the middle. Before anything could be done in response to the new arrival's attack, the machine had brought up the weapon it was carrying and fired a quick volley of beam blasts at a pair of GINNs that were close to Athrun's position. Thankfully, neither of the GINNs were destroyed, but they did suffer some significant damage in their attempt to dodge the attack, and that had left them wide open for when the red and blue machine snapped the blade of its weapon out and slashed through them with relative ease. The _Vesalius_ then opened fire on the machine, but it merely raised its shield and deflected that attacks with ease before tossing the shield once again, this time right through the ship's exposed weapons. As the shield was soaring through space, some of Athrun's comrades thought that this was their chance to hit their new opponent, but that turned out to be a big mistake as a Mobius Zero mobile armor suddenly blasted onto the scene and took out of the GINNs with its gun barrels, while the red and blue mobile suit evaded the others' attacks with the skill of an acrobat and then landed a few hard punches and kicks into some of them while using the sword to fully disable the machine before it finally caught the shield as it returned to its arm.

Athrun found himself unable to do anything but watch in awe at how skilled the pilot of the new mobile suit seemed to be, as it seemed like he was operating his machine in a way that seemed like it were responding to the very movements that the pilot himself would make if he were fighting head-on, but he did not watch for long, as he quickly spotted the Strike approaching him with its rifle ready to fire. Not wasting another second, Athrun immediately maneuvered the Aegis out of the way before firing his own rifle at Kira's mobile suit just as Kira had done the same, both of them missing their targets by mere inches. Eventually, the two ceased trying to hit one another with their long range weapons, and immediately switched to clashing with their beam sabers, each of the pilots grunting in frustration as they clashed with each other.

From the Patriot, Steve caught a quick glimpse of Mu's Zero receiving a hard hit that forced the lieutenant to return to the ship, along with the last remaining ship from the advance fleet receiving damage to some of its weapons, but paid it little mind as he had his own battle to focus on. In truth, he was finding his skills in piloting the Patriot to be much more efficient than when he first drove the machine, and he was actually a bit surprised that he was able to make it fight so much like he did, but that was something that he decided he would think about later as he brought the machine's shield up to block another blast from one of the remaining GINNs and returned fire with his sword-rifle. He then made the Patriot perform a quick flip to avoid being hit by a rocket that one of the remaining few GINNs had fired, and then tossed the Patriot's shield at the offending machine, knocking the GINN's weapon out of its hand and throwing it off balance long enough for the Patriot to swoop in and deal a final blow with its sword. After snapping the sword back into rifle mode, the Steve then fired a few round from both his machine's Vulcan guns and the rifle itself on the approaching enemies as he retrieved the Patriot's shield from where it had stopped and then used the shield to either slam into or slice through some of the enemies that he was facing. He was about to move on to his next target when something terrible finally happened.

A massive explosion lit up the darkness of space, and he turned to see that it resulted from the enemy ship being able to land one last shot from its damaged weapons on the last ship of the advance fleet, causing the vessel to explode in a blaze of fire and smoke, leaving only himself, the Strike, and the _Archangel_ as Z.A.F.T.'s remaining opponents. Steve then prepared to bring the Patriot around and eliminate the two GINNs that were making a run for the ship, when he was cut off by the Aegis's energy cannon. The mobile suit itself then appeared before the captain while the Strike moved to float alongside it, ready for action against the red Gundam, but before any of the three could make so much as one move, an announcement was made from the Archangel that horrified Kira and disgusted Steve.

 _"Attention Z.A.F.T. Forces, this is the warship_ Archangel _of the Earth Alliance Forces,"_ Natarle's voice called out. _"Presently under the protective custody of this ship is PLANT Supreme Council Chairman Seigel Clyne's daughter, Lacus Clyne. By chance we came across a life pod with her inside, and we brought her aboard as a humanitarian gesture. However, should you decide to attack this vessel, we shall consider that an abandonment of your responsibility to protect Miss Clyne. We will then be forced to take matters into our own hands."_

Steve then found himself snarling in disgust of Natarle's actions, as while he understood that sometimes it was necessary to use such tactics in a war, it still infuriated him to even think of the notion of using a rescued person as a hostage bargaining chip, especially when the person in question was just a young civilian. Apparently, his distaste for these actions was shared by the pilot of the Aegis, as he heard Athrun shout, "What monsters you are! Using a rescued civilian as a hostage…so, do you still feel justified in fighting by their side with these cowards, Kira?"

"Athrun, I…" Kira tried to say, but he was too shocked by what they had all just heard from the _Archangel_ to really say anything in his defense. He was extremely thankful that someone else was able to.

"Believe me, soldier, it was never our intention to use her as a hostage, and we're both just as upset with this as you are," Captain America said over the same frequency, leading Athrun to pause for a moment and wonder who this person that was now speaking was before he just snarled and promised that he would rescue Lacus as he turned the Aegis around to return to his ship.

Steve could only watch as the red mobile suit departed for a few seconds until he told Kira that they should return as well, to which Kira could only nod in response before he turned the Strike towards the _Archangel_. As they were returning, Steve glanced at Kira's machine for a minute as he wondered to himself, _How does that pilot know Kira, and why did it sound like they knew each other personally?_

* * *

 ** _AN: In all honesty, I knew all along that Cap was not going to be a very big fan of Flay's attitude towards Lacus and Coordinators in generla. In fact, originally he was going to react a little more harshly and say that Flay was acting no better than the Nazis of WWII, but AXL999 and I talked it over and figured that it was a little too soon to be making such a harsh judgment on that so I dialed it back a bit to what you read here._**

 ** _In addition to this, I did not specify how many GINNs were in the battle this time because I felt it would be too much trouble to try and effectively keep track of them while allowing Cap to show off the skills he has in the Patriot. I know it may seem like Cap's learning how to pilot a mobile suit a little too quickly, but given that he's a soldier, it really should not come as that great of a surprise that he's picked up on such tactics so quickly, especially when you consider that he's had plenty of time to read up on how his machine and its armaments work._**

 ** _Finally, I wanted to make it a little more clear how the Patriot was customized specifically for Captain America by having it fight in a way similar to how Cap would fight, and I really hope that I did it justice, because the whole time I was writing the action sequences for the Patriot I was picturing some of the fight scenes that Cap was in from Captain America: The Winter Soldier, along with a number of the other movies from the MARVEL Cinematic Universe. Now that all that's been said and done, Onto the Preview!..._**

 ** _Steve discovers the full truth of Kira's history with Athrun, and after learning the full reason for Athrun's anger at hearing that Lacus was being used as a hostage, he assists Kira in bringing the songstress back to Z.A.F.T. Though it does lead to a not-so-fond farewell between friends, Kira does not have long to worry as the ship is soon attacked once again by Athrun's teammates. How will the super soldier and the young Coordinator fare in this new battle, and just what will await them in the events that are still to come? Next time on Shield of the Cosmic Era…_ Chapter 4: Test of Warriors _. Show that potential that has yet to be unleashed Gundam and Captain America!_**

 ** _Please read and review, and I'll see ya next time, Gundam believers!_**


	4. Test of Warriors

_**AN: Hey everyone, lyokoMARVELanime here, and we're back with another round of Captain America and his adventures in the world of Gundam SEED! I'm not gonna waste anymore of your time talking, so stop reading this author's note and just get to the story. There is nothing funny going on here this time.**_

 _ **Yzak: How do you know that for sure?**_

 _ **AN: Cause I said so, unless you want to get hit with a spoiler prevention gag.**_

 ** _Yzak: No thanks. I have no intention of trying to reveal that you're thinking of having some of the Gundam SEED characters..._**

 ** _AN: DAH! SPOILER! [hits control]_**

 ** _Yzak: [gets blasted by a sudden energy blast from out of nowhere] THAT DOESN'T EVEN MAKE SENSE! [gets blasted again for trying to make logic out of a cartoon style gag] OH COME ON! [gets blasted again for being him] WHAT?!_**

 ** _AN: Yeah I think this is going to take a while. Move along now._**

 ** _I do not own anything from either the MARVEL or Gundam franchises or any other franchise mentioned in this story._**

* * *

 **Chapter 4: Test of Warriors**

Steve made it no secret that he did not approve of what Natarle had done in the last battle after he had returned to the ship, as the ever present scowl that came to his face when he thought of it proved, and this fact was further enforced by how he had stormed up to the bridge and chewed out the ensign for those actions. Natarle argued that she honestly felt that if she had not done so then the ship and everyone on it would have been destroyed, along with the fact that Lacus would have ended up being treated very much like a hostage as soon as they reached the lunar base, but that did little to quell Steve's anger on the fact, as he immediately insisted that even if Lacus was the daughter of the PLANT leader, innocent civilians should never be used as hostages by an official military unit, even in a time of war, especially when said civilians were just children. When Natarle tried to point out that Kira and his friends were also civilians, Steve reminded her that the four students had volunteered to help out while Kira had no choice after he had modified the Strike's OS in the way that he did, which set them very much apart from Lacus's situation, and that served as the final blow that caused Natarle's further arguments to die in her throat.

Even so, Steve knew that arguing about the matter any further either way would do nothing to change what had happened, especially given that Murrue did not seem to approve of the actions that her second in command had taken any more than he did, because the ship was still caught in a very serious situation. With the advance fleet taken out, the _Archangel_ was now alone should the Z.A.F.T. Forces suddenly attack them again, so the deck crew was immediately working as quickly as they could to repair and resupply the mobile suits and Mu's mobile armor as best as they could given their current supplies. They were all fairly certain that the Z.A.F.T. ship pursuing them would not take action knowing that Lacus was aboard the _Archangel_ , but they all knew that could change in a matter of moments, so the only thing that they could do now was set course to rendezvous with the Earth Forces' Lunar Fleet.

This knowledge did little to quell Steve's mind on the actions that had been taken by the _Archangel_ 's commanders in the last battle, and since he knew that the ship's engineers were probably more capable of handling the more serious repairs and resupplying of the Patriot than he was, he elected to wander the corridors of the ship in order to clear his head of anymore thoughts on the matter. Even during the time that was known as the Super Hero Civil War, when the superhero community of the Twenty First Century had been split down the middle, neither side had ever resorted to such tactics. Sure the pro-registration side may have gone so far as to use supervillains to help them fight against the resistance movement that Steve himself had led, but they never once used a hostage, even a civilian one. Of course, every time he thought about that time though these days, he was more than convinced that the Skrulls had influenced the events as part of their secret invasion, but the point was, the idea of using hostages always felt like being the one thing that Steve had sworn to fight against, and when you added in the fact that they had failed to save the advance fleet, it could be easy to understand that Steve was so upset, and he was certain that Kira felt the same way, given that he had heard that Kira had promised Flay that things would be okay.

Steve's hunch on how Kira felt was quickly proven true when he heard someone crying out in anguish and anger as he was passing by a certain area of the ship, and upon turning to the source, he found the young Coordinator himself with his head down and his fists against the window that showed a good view Space from the back of the ship, clearly indicating that Kira was probably crying. Steve was about to approach Kira so that he could attempt to comfort him, but then he noticed someone was already beating him to it. "What seems to be the problem," Lacus asked as she floated over to stand next to Kira, gaining the boy's attention.

Lacus then reached to dry Kira's remaining tears, but the boy immediately quickly raised his arm to do it himself, as he did not want anyone to see him cry at the moment. At that point, Steve felt he should make himself known and asked, "Either you are far more skilled for an average civilian than you have led us to believe Miss Clyne, or there is a very serious problem with the lock to the door of your quarters. I'm sure you are well aware of your current situation, so what're you doing out here?"

Lacus and Kira both turned to face the super soldier in surprise, indicating that neither one had noticed him there until he spoke up, before the pinkette smiled a little and replied, "I was taking a stroll when I heard a loud cry coming from this direction, and I was concerned."

"Well you shouldn't be walking around on your own like this," Kira said as he quickly hid a small blush, clearly embarrassed over the fact that Lacus and possibly Steve had heard him just now. "They'll accuse you of being a spy."

"Is that right," Lacus asked.

"Yes, I'm afraid so Lacus," Steve nodded in confirmation. "You really should stay in your quarters for your own safety, especially now."

"I know that's true," Lacus admitted before she threw a small glance at the spherical robot that was always with her. "But Mister Pink loves to take walks. In fact, it doesn't matter if the door is locked. He always seems to open it and go out."

Steve smirked a little, clearly knowing that Lacus was just trying to blame poor Haro for her actions, even if it was likely true assuming Haro's AI was anything like that of J.A.R.V.I.S., and then extended a hand to Lacus as he offered to lead her back to her room. Lacus just giggled a little before looking out and commenting, "The fighting has come to an end I see." Steve noticed that Kira's expression immediately fell upon hearing that simple, innocent observation, and when Lacus noticed this to, she then added, "And yet, the expression on your face is so sad, Mister Yamato."

Kira finally set himself down on the floor along with the other two as he admitted, "I'm really getting tired of all this fighting."

"Believe me, Kira, you're not the first person to be in your position. To be honest, I've actually considered pursuing a more peaceful life a few times in the past, but the problem is that I've been fighting for so long as both a soldier and as a hero that I'm not sure what I would do with myself when the day finally came that I decided to finally hang up my shield. Someone once asked me what it was that I would like to do if I ever stopped fighting the good fight, but I didn't have an answer for him. I'm afraid that I still don't, but I'm sure that you do have an answer for that," Steve told the boy. Kira gave a small nod in response to this, and it was at this point, Steve felt that he should finally ask Kira about something that had been bothering him for quite some time now. "Kira, during that last battle, I could not help but overhear the communication between you and the pilot of the unit that everyone calls the Aegis. From where I was, it sounded like the two of you knew each other somehow. Does that have anything to do with why you became the pilot of the Strike?"

Kira looked between Steve and Lacus for a minute before he sighed a little, feeling that there probably was not any harm in telling these two about his past. "The truth is…I do know the pilot of the Aegis," Kira admitted. "His name is Athrun Zala. We were once very close friends a long time ago, but we ended up going our separate ways when his family decided to move to the PLANTs before the war broke out. He's actually the one who made and gave me Birdie, you know, the little robot bird that's always with me. I never would've dreamed that he would've been a soldier, let alone the pilot of a mobile suit that I would be fighting against."

Steve nodded in understanding of this, as he had seen quite a few times how a war could tear such good friends apart like that. To be honest, he could not help but think of what had happened to his old friend, Bucky, and while Kira and Athrun's situation was not the same as it was for Steve and his childhood friend, it still brought up those memories and feelings in Steve. "Now I understand," Lacus suddenly said, drawing Steve and Kira out of their thoughts. "What's clear is that you and Athrun are both really good people, Mister Yamato. The reality of that makes this really sad."

"You don't mean to say that you know this Athrun, do you Lacus," Steve asked, with Kira silently asking the same question as well, judging by the surprised look on his face.

"He's to be part of my life," Lacus nodded in reply. "Athrun Zala is the man I will eventually be marrying."

"Excuse me," Steve exclaimed while Kira just stared in silent shock, having never once suspected that Lacus was actually Athrun's fiancé. "Aren't you two a little young to be thinking of such things so soon?"

"It's actually been arranged between our fathers," Lacus explained.

"I'm guessing part of it is due to the birth regulations in the PLANTs," Kira guessed. When Steve raised an eyebrow in confusion at this, Kira explained, "There aren't a lot of childbirths among certain generations of Coordinators, so that's part of the reason why the PLANTs have regulated marriages."

Steve could not say he really understood this that well, but given that no one wanted to see their family history come to an end, it made sense that they would do whatever they could just so that they could have a child to call their own, even if it meant marrying someone they did not love. Steve then looked to Lacus and asked, "How would you describe Athrun from your perspective Lacus."

Lacus did not even need to stop and think before she replied, "He's a kind individual but he is on the quiet side, though it was very sweet of him to give me Haro. I told how much pleasure it brought me having Haro around to keep me company, then he kept giving me another and another."

"Is that right? Sounds like Athrun hasn't changed one bit," Kira chuckled. Kira's face then fell a little before he added, "Now we're…"

Neither Lacus nor Steve needed Kira to finish that sentence, as they both knew what Kira was thinking, so they were both quick to think about what it would be like if the two friends did not have to fight against each other ever again. The three then just stood there for a moment, looking out at the stars while Kira and Lacus exchanged some stories about the times that they spent with Athrun before Lacus finally allowed Kira and Steve to lead her back to her room once again. This time, Steve made extra sure that the door was locked after Lacus had gone in, but all the same, it made the fact that Lacus was practically a hostage even more upsetting for him now that he knew what he did.

That knowledge, coupled with his feelings on the matter allowed Steve to make a decision that some would probably consider similar to the one he made when he refused to listen to Maria Hill when she had asked him to help enforce the Superhero Registration Act, and he immediately went after Kira so that he could speak with the boy for a minute without anyone overhearing. "Kira, I have a very important mission that I need you to carry out," Steve whispered as soon as he was alone with Kira.

"Uh Steve, are you sure you can even assign missions to me," Kira asked, as he was not all that certain on the matter himself.

"If anyone tells me otherwise, I'll just tell them the same thing I told someone back in World War II when they said I couldn't give them orders," Steve smirked. His smirk did not disappear in the slightest when he then added, "And I have a feeling that this is a mission you will definitely like."

Kira was confused by what said captain meant by that, but after Steve had told him what the mission he had for the young Coordinator was, Kira's eyes had instantly widened in understanding right before he smiled at Steve and simply nodded to say that he accepted the mission that the legendary Captain America was giving him.

* * *

Later on when everyone else was asleep, Lacus had been peacefully sleeping when she heard Haro calling out for some strange reason. "Yes Haro? What is it," Lacus asked as she rubbed her eyes and sat up a little. To her surprise, she saw Kira standing in the doorway trying to get the small robot to quiet down. "Mister Yamato? Hope there isn't a problem is there," Lacus then asked as she finally sat up.

Kira immediately shushed Lacus as well before he whispered, "Please don't say a word and come with me, quietly."

Lacus was a bit confused at first, but once she was awake enough to see that Kira was obviously in a hurry, she quickly got out of bed and got dressed as quickly as she could before stepping out to where Kira was waiting for her. The two then began to make their way through the ship, making sure that they were not spotted by anyone, until Kira saw Sai and Miriallia coming out of their room, and tried to hide Lacus from them. His attempt was not successful in the least bit, thanks to Haro, but to his surprise, the two actually volunteered to help him with what he was doing. Kira did not want to involve them, but he had a feeling that he would not be able to get Lacus to Z.A.F.T. without their help, so he just graciously accepted and led them to the locker rooms to get Kira's pilot suit and a normal suit for Lacus where Steve was waiting for them. "I thought I told you to make sure no one saw you and that you didn't let anyone else get involved," Steve said when he saw Miriallia and Sai were among the group.

"They caught us as we were heading over and Haro couldn't keep his mouth shut," Kira explained while throwing a pointed glance at the robot.

"No problem. No problem," was Haro's only response.

Steve just sighed in response to this before nodding and saying that Kira should hurry and get inside so that the two could change into their space suits. As he stood guard with Kira's friends, Steve looked over to the two and asked, "I get the feeling that part of the reason you're helping is that you're worried he won't come back just because you found out that Kira's friend is in Z.A.F.T."

Both Sai and Miriallia jumped a little when Steve said this before Miriallia asked, "How'd you know we found out about that?"

"I get the feeling your friend Kuzzey told you, since I noticed he was eavesdropping from behind the door when I was talking to those two," Steve smirked in reply. He then became a little more serious before he added, "Even though Kira's friend is with the enemy, that doesn't mean that Kira's going to leave you behind. I can tell that he cares a great deal for the people that are important to him and that he'll do what he can to keep them safe, so don't worry so much about him not coming back."

Sai and Miriallia both nodded in response to this and then went back to keeping a silent watch for a minute until Sai asked, "Are you really okay with this, Captain Rogers?"

"Of course I am," Steve replied. "After all, Kira's just following my orders."

"Your orders," Miriallia asked.

"Who do you gave him the okay for this little secret mission," Steve asked with a knowing smile.

"Are you sure that everyone will be okay with it," Sai asked. "I mean, we are technically going against the captain and the other officers doing this."

"Maybe, but considering that I outrank everyone on this ship, I don't think that anyone will complain that much," Steve pointed out, at which point both Miriallia and Sai nodded in acceptance and then continued to wait until Kira and Lacus stepped out in their suits before they all headed to the hangar.

A minute later, Captain America was fully suited up as well seated in the Patriot while Kira and Lacus were both sitting in the Strike, and after Kira gave a last minute promise to come back to his friends, the two moved their machines to the launch deck. _"Kira Yamato and Captain Rogers, what're you doing,"_ they then heard Natarle calling out.

 _"Forget it Commander, the kid and Cap are taking the girl out,"_ Mu's voice then said on the same frequency. _"The airlocks have already been opened so it's too late."_

It did not take long for Natarle to begin protesting again until Steve said, "Stand down soldier! Sorry, but we're taking Miss Clyne back to where she belongs, as is the mission that Kira and I are on, so don't try to stop either of us. Also, don't launch any additional forces. We don't want to seem like we're just using this as some kind of ruse to get the enemy to drop their guard."

 _"What?! You can't be serious, and you definitely can't give me orders,"_ Natarle protested.

"Anyone else getting a bit of déjà vu," Steve asked. He then just shrugged and replied, "I'm about to tell you the same thing I told the last person who said that to me. The hell I can't! I'm a captain."

Everyone was stunned into silence at that, and as such, no one did anything more to stop the two mobile suits from heading out on their self-assigned mission. Most of the crew was not sure what to make of the situation, but given that Captain America was clearly calling the shots on this one, it did not seem anyone was in a position to argue even if they tried.

* * *

A matter of seconds later, the Patriot and the Strike were both positioned at a point midway between the _Archangel_ and the Z.A.F.T. ship that was pursuing them, and were now waiting for the arrival of the Aegis after Kira had contacted the ship saying that he would only hand Lacus over to said machine's pilot. A short while later, the red mobile suit was in sight and Kira raised the Strike's rifle towards it just in case it was not Athrun. "Athrun Zala," Kira asked.

"Yes, that's right," his old friend confirmed.

The two friends then opened their cockpits and as soon as Athrun confirmed Lacus was in fact with Kira, the pink songstress was sent off to her fiancé. Everything seemed to go smoothly at this point, until Athrun looked back to the Strike and called out, "Kira! You come along with us too! There isn't any reason why you should remain with the Earth Forces!"

Steve could immediately hear the desperation in Athrun's voice as he pleaded with his old friend, indicating that the young man wanted his friend back with him more than anything, and knowing that Kira wanted to avoid fighting against Athrun as much as possible, it was safe to say that if Kira could hear the desperation in Athrun's voice as well, then he may end up going with Athrun after all. In the end though, Steve's worries were quickly dismissed when Kira finally responded, "Believe me, the last thing I want to do is fight against you, but aboard that ship are people who I feel obligated to protect. My friends are on that ship!"

Steve was proud of Kira for insisting on staying true to the promise he made to his friends before they left and for wanting to stay with them until they were safe again, but that pride turned to sorrow when he heard the next few words that the two friends exchanged. "Then I've got no choice Kira," Athrun said, his sorrow at saying the words truly showing in his tone. "The next time we meet in battle, I will show you no mercy."

"…Same goes for me," Kira replied, and with that, the two closed the cockpits of their machines before turning to return to their ships. A minute later, the warning sensors on both mobile suits went off, and they quickly spotted a CGUE approaching them at high speed, and shortly after that, La Flaga's Mobius Zero had flown in as well.

"Did you really believe they'd just sit back and watch," La Flaga asked the two.

"No, and that's why I'm out here and you were supposed to remain on the ship," Steve stated as he charged towards the approaching enemy machine. "Now return to the _Archangel_ , Lieutenant. I'll handle things here."

Captain America was quick to prove this point by giving the Patriot's shield a hard toss towards the approaching CGUE, throwing the machine off-balance while he raced forward and retrieved his machine's shield. The minute he was in range of the enemy unit, Steve had the Patriot throw a hard punch in the CGUE's head, followed by using the shield to slash at the enemy mobile suit and a quick spin kick, which rattled the pilot until said pilot regained control of his machine and opened fire on the red and blue machine, forcing it to dodge the enemy fire as a result. As he placed the shield back on the Patriot's arm, he heard someone chuckling over the radio frequency before the mysterious person said, _"Well you certainly know how to make your mobile suit fight like him, but I wonder if it really is you? I wish to see the face of our newest enemy so that we may confirm once and for all if the pilot of the Legged Ship's second mobile suit truly is the mighty Captain America, so please, grant me that small request!"_

Steve did not see any reason why he should not do so, after all, it was not likely going to remain a secret that Captain America was indeed alive for very long, considering how quickly people found out back in the Twenty First Century after he woke up, so he immediately opened the comm. frequency the CGUE's pilot was using, and he was then greeted by the image of a man with pale blonde hair, wearing a white Z.A.F.T. uniform and a mask over his face. "This Captain Steven Rogers, alias Captain America, pilot of the AX001 Patriot. I've told you who I am, now identify yourself."

The masked man merely smirked in reply before he stated, _"Commander Rau Le Creuset of Z.A.F.T., leader of the Le Creuset Team, at your service, Captain. It is an honor to be granted a chance to meet you like this. I only hope that you really are as capable a warrior as the stories have led me to believe."_

Steve just smirked before he replied, "Somehow I don't think you'll get that chance today."

Le Creuset was confused by what Captain America meant until everyone heard Lacus's voice calling out over the radio as she said, _"Commander Rau Le Creuset, stand down at once! Do you truly intend to make this place into a battlefield in the presence of a memorial representative like myself? I will not permit this to continue. You are to cease any and all further hostile actions immediately. Can you not hear me?"_

Le Creuset could only lightly growl in annoyance, wondering why the girl had to do this now of all times, but he knew that he was already doing exactly what the girl said he should not the minute he started to clash with the Patriot. "Troublesome young lady," Le Creuset muttered to himself before he addressed said young lady directly. "Lacus Clyne, I understand."

The CGUE then turned to join the Aegis in returning to their ship. The pilots of the _Archangel_ could all only watch for a minute, two in slight surprise while the third did so with a knowing smile, until Mu finally said, "Not sure what just happened, but we should return too. We don't want to stir up a hornets' nest."

"We nearly would have due to the fact that you went against the orders I had given," Steve stated, his voice not indicating the slightest amount of pleasure at the fact that Mu was there, leading the mobile armor pilot to realize that there was a likely chance that the legendary captain would make his stance on this matter very clear to both him and the other two commanding officers of the _Archangel_ when they returned.

Mu simply shrugged in acceptance of that fact as he turned his Mobius back to the ship and made to return alongside the Strike and the Patriot before he said, "That was one unbelievable princess though." When he received no response either machine's pilot, Mu then asked Kira, "Is something the matter, kid?"

Kira did not say anything in reply, but instead found himself allowing Steve to say, "Don't worry about it, Lieutenant. Kira's just been thinking of something a little personal recently."

Mu accepted that response and cut all further communication with the two machines, just missing how Kira had thanked Steve for what the super soldier had said, and the rest of the trip back to the _Archangel_ was met with nothing but silence between the three.

* * *

After returning to the _Archangel_ , Natarle had tried to have Kira held accountable and punished for the actions he had taken, but the minute that Steve had stepped forward and stated that Kira's actions were in direct response to orders from a superior officer, Natarle found she had no grounds on which to dispute the matter. Natarle had tried to argue that Steve was not technically an official part of the military, but Steve did not let that deter him in the slightest as he pointed out that he had been a part of the official military and other similar organizations long before most of the grandparents of the people on the ship were even born, so his authority still held substantial ground. It would have escalated further had Murrue and Mu not intervened and stated that Steve did outrank the entirety of the _Archangel_ 's crew by default, as the "captain" in his famous codename was in fact Steve's actual rank, so there was really nothing they could do on the matter. Natarle could only nod in reluctant recognition of this and elected to merely sulk about it later on while making it clear that she would be voicing her disapproval of this in her official report.

Mu had to let out a sigh of relief when it was decided that they would not be having Kira stand so much as a small trial for his actions, as the Hawk of Endymion had quickly been told that he would have had to act as Kira's lawyer for said trial, and Steve could not help but laugh a little at the thought of Mu doing so before saying that he was sure that Mu could not even come close to being a fraction of the lawyer that Matt Murdock was. Unsurprisingly, Mu actually took that as a compliment while Natarle simply rolled her eyes after overhearing this. It was at this point that Steve realized he was actually beginning to start to seeing some of the people he knew from the Twenty First Century in some of the _Archangel_ 's crew and passengers, at least in regards to people that he had spent the most time around.

The most dominant of those being in regards to his fellow pilots and the two female commanders of the ship. In the case of Natarle, Steve honestly felt that he could not help but compare Natarle to Maria Hill, as the personalities of the two women most definitely held more than a few similarities. The fact that the two were both so dedicated to their organization's rules, regulations, and protocols was just one small contributing factor, as in addition to this, Steve could easily see that Natarle had the same sort of no-nonsense attitude that Hill had which especially showed in how little the former second in command of S.H.I.E.L.D. approved of superheroes in general, while in Natarle's case it showed in a great number of her actions and decisions. It was true that Hill did begin to soften up a little over time, but the fact that Natarle was so similar to Maria Hill was so stunning that it almost made Steve wonder if the two were actually related somehow.

Moving on to the _Archangel_ 's captain, Steve was not quite sure how to best describe Murrue Ramius, in regards to people he knew from those days, but if he had to guess, he would say that he would probably consider Murrue to be somewhat like Natasha Romanoff, alias the Black Widow. While it was not all that obvious at first glance, if one took the time to get to know both women like Steve had, one would see that both Romanoff and Ramius were women who were very dedicated to their causes and their comrades, and both were willing to do what they could to ensure a mission's success. True, Romanoff was a bit more willing to go an extra mile in some cases than Murrue Ramius probably would, but given what he had seen so far from the time he had known both women, it was really hard to find someone from the Twenty First Century that Steve could better match to Murrue than Black Widow.

In terms of Steve's fellow pilots, Steve found that he could most easily compare Mu La Flaga to Tony Stark, mostly due to the fact that both men seemed to be rather relaxed in terms of attitude, while still being able to be someone you could count on to come through in any situation, yet at the same time, Mu was also pretty similar to Steve's old wingman, Sam Wilson, the Falcon, due to the fact that Mu could handle a certain machine better than anyone else could much like how Sam was able to handle the Falcon suit better than anyone else. In Kira's case, there was really only one person that Steve could relate to the young Coordinator, and that was a certain young man in a spider themed suit that always lived by the philosophy that stated that with great power comes great responsibility. Sure, Kira never joked around so much like the web-swinging hero that was Spider-Man always did, but he did hold that same burden of responsibility that the young hero always seemed to bear, right to the point where he even seemed to believe he was holding the weight of the world on his shoulders just as much as Spidey always had.

It really was quite amazing how much the people he had met on the _Archangel_ were like the men and women he had once fought alongside of were, and that really served as all the more reason for Steve to make sure that the ship was able to rendezvous with the Eighth Fleet in one piece. He knew that would be no easy task of course, as there was still the other ship that was carrying the stolen mobile suits pursuing them, but Captain America had never let anything prevent him from seeing something through to the end and doing all he could to make sure people were brought to safety, and he certainly had no reason to start now, so he did not intend to, for the sake of all the people on this ship. These were the thoughts that were running through Steve's mind as he made his way to the ship's mess hall to grab a small meal before returning to his regular duties, until he noticed that Flay was now out of bed and seemed to be speaking with Kira.

The sight of the redhead speaking with Kira so soon actually worried Steve a little, as he had heard from Miriallia and the others about what had happened the last time that the two had spoken to each other, so it was only natural that he would be a little hesitant to let the girl speak with Kira so soon while keeping his own distance from Flay, as Steve had failed the girl just as much as Kira had. Knowing all this, Steve was naturally surprised when he heard Flay actually apologize to Kira for what she had said, and then go on to insist that she was out of line when Kira tried to say that it was alright since she just said it out of grief. As Flay went on about how she understood everything about what had happened perfectly well, Steve found that he could not find the girl's words to be even the least bit convincing, as he knew full well that no one was able to overcome the grief they felt at the loss of family so quickly, and he found his suspicions to be true when Flay stated that she wished that the war would hurry up and end in a way that indicated that she intended to do something that she truly believed would cause that to happen, just so she could gain some semblance of revenge on the ones who took her father from her. Sadly, Kira did not notice this, as he simply thought the girl was just making conversation, and no one could tell Kira of this even if anyone other than Steve had picked up on it, as the alarm to assume battle stations suddenly went out.

Not wanting to waste a minute, Kira, Steve, and all the other officers that were in the mess hall at the time immediately raced out to get to their stations, but Kira had to pause when he accidentally ran into a small child. Before he could help her up though, Flay had already done so as she said, "Oh I'm so sorry. Kira was in a hurry and he didn't see you." A minute later, Flay proved Steve's suspicions to be correct when she told the little girl something that the redhead knew Kira would overhear. "We're entering another fight, but we'll be fine because Kira will be out there. He's gonna protect us."

"Really," the little girl asked in awe.

"Yep. He's gonna go out there and beat up all the bad guys for us," Flay nodded, and it was at this point Steve felt that he had to step in.

"Don't make it sound like Kira's going to do everything on his own," the super soldier told Flay in a gentle voice, more for the little girl's sake than for Flay's as he added his own piece. "Don't worry, Kira and I will do everything we can to keep everyone safe along with all the others who will be fighting out there and up on the bridge, but we can only do that if you stay in area that's safe for you and your family, understand?"

"Yes sir," the child smiled in reply, giving Steve more than enough reason to chuckle in amusement at her innocence. The super soldier then stood up and turned to head for the hangar with Kira just after he cast a look in Flay's direction that only the redhead herself noticed which silently told her that Captain America knew what Flay was doing, but it did not seem like she cared all that much as she simply just shrugged it off a minute later.

After parting from the others, Steve took a moment to pull Kira aside for a second and say, "Don't be so quick to trust Flay's sudden change in attitude towards you Kira. No one is able to get over the loss of a loved one so quickly, especially in the case of family. I should know, seeing as I lost both my parents to a war as well."

"Are you sure Steve," Kira asked. "I mean, I doubt Flay would really do something all that horrible."

"There's nothing wrong with having that kind of optimism son, but that doesn't mean you should drop your guard completely," Steve cautioned the boy. "Grief is a dangerous thing that can change people in ways that you couldn't imagine and lead them to dangerous thoughts that you and their other friends would consider out of the ordinary for them. Sometimes even thoughts of revenge, and that is one of the greatest of all poisons. It can take you over, corrupt you, and sooner or later, it will turn you into something ugly."

Kira found he could do nothing more than nod in reply to Steve's words as he finished suiting up while Steve just strapped on his helmet and placed his shield on its usual harness before they each headed to their respective mobile suits. A minute after they were each seated in their cockpits, Miriallia informed the two that their opponents were the Buster, the Duel, and the Blitz, along with the ship that they had launched from in the past. It did not take Steve long to recognize the names of each machine, as he had made sure to read up on each of the stolen mobile suits, so he immediately recognized the Blitz as the unit that he fought against the first time he boarded the Patriot, and he knew it was very likely the pilot would want a rematch against him. With that knowledge in mind and their machines fully equipped for the upcoming battle, the two pilots blasted off into action the minute they received the all clear, only making a minor note of the _Archangel_ readying its weapons systems as they flew off to meet the enemy.

The minute the three enemy mobile suits were in sight, Cap and the others were prepared to engage them, but they quickly broke formation in order to evade the sudden barrage from the enemy ship. At that point, the Buster was quick to engage Mu while the Duel made a beeline for the Strike, covering for the Blitz as it headed straight for the _Archangel_. Mu was not about to let Z.A.F.T. get the better of him, and immediately deployed his machine's gun barrels so that he could open fire on the Buster, leaving Kira to engage the Duel in sword combat, while the Patriot intercepted the final enemy. As soon as the Blitz's pilot saw that the Patriot was standing in his path, he was quick to engage the beam saber in his machine's shield, and immediately collided the weapon against the Patriot's shield. Steve was quick to parry the attack and then attempted to follow-up by swinging the Flag Saber at the Blitz, but the enemy pilot proved to be too quick for him by evading at the last minute and then blasting around to the Patriot's back as it fired one of its lancer darts at point blank. Steve was sure that anyone else would have been more than a bit shaken up by the attack, but he was quick to shake it off before spinning around to attack once more, only to find that the Blitz had vanished.

" _Archangel_ , I've lost sight of the Blitz," Captain America reported.

 _"Don't worry. It's Mirage Colloid must have been activated, but thankfully, we know how to deal with it,"_ Natarle told Steve, to which the super soldier nodded in reply before he readied the Flag Saber's rifle mode to fire, knowing that he would need to strike at a moment's notice. A minute later, the _Archangel_ had fired off some anti-beam depth charges just in time to save itself from being hit by a sudden beam blast, which gave Steve a rough idea of where the Blitz was, and he immediately fired a barrage of his own to the area the blast had originated from, forcing the machine to disengage the stealth system so that it could avoid serious damage.

 _"That's right. This machine once belonged to you. Of course you'd know its weaknesses,"_ a voice suddenly said over the radio, leading Steve to think that the pilot did not realize that he had accidentally activated his radio system. What came as even more shocking was that the piloted sounded rather young, and that led Steve to immediately charge in once again before clashing the Flag Saber's sword against the Blitz's beam saber once again.

"Tell me pilot, what's your name," Steve requested as soon as he was sure that the Blitz's pilot could hear him. After not receiving a reply as quickly as he would have expected, Steve went on to add, "We've already faced each other twice now, so it would only be natural for me to know who you are."

Silence was his only response for a time once again, until the young pilot finally replied, _"My name is Nicol. Nicol Amalfi, and if I've heard right, recent reports from Commander Le Creuset say that you're Captain America, right?"_

"You heard right, soldier," Steve confirmed. "So don't be surprised or upset when you and your comrades lose this battle."

The two then pushed off of one another before the Blitz vanished once again. Seeing that the _Archangel_ could likely handle the Blitz on its own for a moment, Steve thought it would be better for him to try and assist Mu with the Buster until he could engage the Blitz directly again. Just as he was approaching the Buster, an explosion suddenly came from near the _Archangel_ 's bridge, and Steve looked to see that the Blitz had somehow managed to get past the ship's defenses. At this point, Steve was not sure what to do anymore, as assisting either Mu or Kira would mean he would have to leave the _Archangel_ to fend for itself, while trying to stop the Blitz would mean that he would have to leave Kira and Mu on their own as well. It did not take long for him to make a decision on what he should do though, especially after someone else made a move to assist him.

* * *

Kira was barely holding his own against the Duel, as the enemy machine was just as versatile in combat as the Strike was with the Aile Striker pack, and it did not help that Mu was being held up by the Buster while Captain America was struggling against the Blitz, at least the last time that Kira had checked, but when you added all that together with the fact that the enemy ship was firing everything they had at the _Archangel_ at every moment they gained, it was not hard to understand why Kira was frustrated. Just as Kira had managed to deflect another blow from the Duel, Miriallia had called him to let him know of the Blitz's attack on the ship, and a minute later, the moment when the advanced fleet was destroyed flashed through Kira's mind after he saw the explosion from the ship his friends were all on. When he saw that explosion, his thoughts immediately turned to everyone who was on the _Archangel_ and how they were all counting on him and the others to keep them safe, which left him with only one option. That option was to do whatever it took to protect the _Archangel_ , no matter what happened.

The minute he thought that, Kira felt as though his mind went blank while something inside of him suddenly burst to life, and he soon found himself easily evading and countering the Duel's next attack almost like it was second nature to him. Kira then charged the Blitz in order to drive it away from the ship, but before he could follow up with an attack to knock the Blitz away, a familiar red and blue shield suddenly flew into the Blitz before it returned to the waiting arm of the Patriot. The red and blue mobile suit then spun around as it fired off a few rounds at the Buster so that Mu could have a moment to breathe a little before it directly engaged the Blitz in close combat once more, only this time with a series of hard punches, kicks, and even a few other moves utilizing its shield much like how Kira had seen Steve fight. The entire time that the Patriot was fighting against the vanishing mobile suit, it was very much clear that Steve was doing whatever he could to keep the Blitz from getting a free moment to re-engage the Mirage Colloid again so that it could slip away, so that left Kira to deal with the Duel as the blue and grey machine closed in on him from behind.

Thinking quickly, Kira spun the Strike around so that it would land a hard kick into the center of the Duel's torso, and then followed up with some quick slashes of his beam saber. The Duel was able to evade most of the first slashes until it eventually found a chance to knock the Strike's sword out of its hand with the one that the blue and grey machine used. Kira did not let this deter him, as he rearmed the Strike with one of its Armor Schneiders in one quick, fluid motion, and then slammed the Strike into the Duel before stabbing the combat knife into an area of the Duel that was very near its cockpit, causing a small explosion on the machine to erupt inside said cockpit. The Duel then stopped moving all together, indicating that the pilot was more than likely unconscious or unable to keep fighting for some other reason, and that was all the reason that Nicol needed to finally shake off Captain America and grab his comrade's machine before he led the team of three mobile suits away in a hasty retreat.

The _Archangel_ 's crew and pilots watched their enemies flee for a moment as said pilots returned to their ship, as Steve commented, "Nice work back there, Kira. That was really impressive."

"Uh Cap," Kira asked, voicing the fact that he was not entirely sure what had just happened a minute ago.

This made Steve a little worried for Kira, as he had heard of moments when a warrior was so determined for something that they would enter a state of battle craze until their fight was over, but Mu did not seem to think about it too much as he just added to the super soldier's early comment by saying, "No, you're more than impressive, Kira. You're unbelievable."

Kira stared between the two soldiers for a minute before he gave them both a small, modest smile and said, "Not really."

All further conversation on the previous battle was then halted when they received word from the bridge that they had finally reached the Eighth Fleet, immediately causing all three to hurry up with their return to the ship. They knew that they were not quite out of the woods yet, but now that they had rendezvoused with the fleet, there was now a chance that they could breathe a little easier now. There was just one thing about all this that did bother Steve though, and he knew that it was bothering quite a few others just as much, and that was the question of what would happen to Kira and his friends now? Whatever it was that happened, one thing was certain: nothing would ever be the same after this.

* * *

 ** _AN: I'm not really sure what I can say here, to be honest. I think everything that's happened is pretty self-explanatory. Kira brought Lacus back and didn't get in trouble because he was following orders that Cap had given him, and since Captain America's the highest ranking officer on the ship, no one could complain, we saw Kira awaken SEED Burst mode for the first time, and we all know how things go from there, and you all saw what did or didn't stay the same as before._**

 ** _So next chapter, you may start to see a few more changes, namely things that will be changed due to Captain America being around, but don't take my word for it, at least not until I say, Onto the Preview!..._**

 ** _Captain America and the others have now all met with the Eighth Fleet, and have now had the chance to meet with some very interesting people as well. As Kira and his friends ponder their decisions on what they would do from here, Steve soon finds a chance to inquire about something that he had been considering for some time. Should Kira decide to return to the battlefield with the very appreciative Earth Forces, will he find himself as part of Cap's plans for the future, and just what will await the team in the battles that are yet to come? Next time on Shield of the Cosmic Era…_** **Chapter 5: Descent into New Battlegrounds** ** _. Prepare to reach out for the next chapter of your adventures Gundam and Captain America!_**

 ** _Please read and review, and I'll see ya next time, Gundam believers!_**


	5. Descent to New Battlegrounds

_**AN: Hey guys, lyokoMARVELanime here, and it looks like it is celebration week for me. I mean, first its the posting of the anniversary chapter for the Gundam SEED Prime series, and now I'm posting a chapter for this story on the same day that Avengers: Age of Ultron comes out on Blu-Ray. How cool is that?!**_

 _ **Yzak: Yeah, yeah, it's all very exciting, but can we please get on with this, I'd like to see how things play out in this chapter so that we can get a little closer to the point in the story where I eventually...**_

 _ **AN: DAH! SPOILER! [hits control]**_

 _ **Yzak: [gets catapulted into a large shark tank] OH COME ON ALREADY! [starts swimming and screaming like a crazy man to avoid the sharks that are now trying to eat him]**_

 _ **AN: You know, sometimes I kind of scare myself with the things I do to prevent spoilers...but then I quickly get over it. Now let's leave Yzak to enjoy his swim while all of you read the newest chapter in this story.**_

 _ **I do not own anything from any of either the MARVEL or Gundam franchises or any other franchise mentioned in this story.**_

* * *

 **Chapter 5: Descent into New Battlegrounds**

No matter where he went on the _Archangel_ , Captain America could hear everyone celebrating the fact that they had finally rendezvoused with the Eighth Fleet after so long. It was not hard to understand though, as most of the people on the _Archangel_ were refugees, including Kira and his friends, and of course the ship personnel was also relieved to have finally made it because of all that they had to endure after all this time, so it was only natural that everyone was happy to make it this far. In fact, Steve would be lying if he said that he was not happy that they finally reached the fleet as well, but it still raised a few questions for the super soldier as to what would happen now.

For starters, there was the matter concerning Kira and his friends. While Sai, Miriallia, Tolle, and Kuzzey were not as heavily involved in all this as Kira was, the fact of the matter was that they had been exposed to what was supposed to be a military secret, so it was hard to really say what would happen to them, and of course there was also the matter that they were all civilians fighting in a war, so that was also something to consider as well. In addition to this, the matter of what would happen to Kira was also a large concern, as Steve knew full well that the entire ship's crew was aware of the fact that it was thanks in no small part to Kira's abilities in the Strike that they were able to get this far, and the suit itself was modified so that only a Coordinator could pilot it, so that was also cause for concern as to what the plans for both Kira and the Strike might be. Steve was not thinking that they should force Kira to stay, of course, but he did know that if Kira did leave, he and La Flaga would likely be the only pilots left on the _Archangel_ , and the super soldier would not deny that he thought that losing Kira like this would be like losing a valuable comrade, and not just as a soldier either.

Steve was also concerned about what the plans involving he, himself might be, but to be honest, such thoughts were not of that great of a concern to the first Avenger, as he knew that he would rather remain with the _Archangel_ in order to ensure its safety in the near future, and because he knew the people on the ship so well that he felt it would be more beneficial for him to remain on the ship than it would be to leave them. While his mind ran through the thoughts on what would happen to the ship and the people aboard it, Steve suddenly picked up on the sound of two people's voices, and from the sound of those voices, they seemed to be coming closer to where he was. Pausing for a minute in his walk through the ship's corridors, Steve looked down the hallway to see that Murrue and Natarle had apparently been heading in his direction after leaving the bridge, and it was obvious that they were arguing about something.

"I understand what you're trying to say, Natarle, believe me; however, Kira Yamato is not an Earth Forces soldier," Murrue stated as the two women came closer to where the captain was currently standing, immediately letting Steve know what they were discussing.

"I know, but his abilities are invaluable to us! We cannot afford to lose them," Natarle argued when the two finally came to a halt at an intersection in the hallway, just a few feet away from Steve.

"Regardless of what potential he can bring to the military, we can _not_ force him to volunteer," Murrue countered, sharply, and she then turned in the direction of the hangar, no doubt planning to speak with the young Coordinator they were just talking about, leaving Natarle to stew in her displeasure over her captain's decision.

Steve thought that it was time to make himself known, so he walked over to Natarle and said, "You know, the way you were talking just now made it seem like you consider him as more of a tool than a person."

Natarle jumped a little at the captain's voice, but immediately relaxed when she saw that it was Steve. When his words finally registered though, a look of confusion reached her face before she asked, "What do you mean?"

"I overheard your discussion with Captain Ramius," Steve clarified with a frown. "What you said a minute ago actually stood out more than anything else. 'His abilities are invaluable to us and we can't afford to lose them.' Were those not your exact words?" Natarle nodded in reply before Steve went on to say, "Forgive me, but it sounds to me like you consider Kira as just another piece of equipment when you say something like that, when he is in fact a human being, and a child at that."

"But I…" Natarle started to say, but she immediately stopped herself when she realized that Steve was right in saying what he did say, and thus was unable to keep herself from lowering her head a little in shame.

"I understand that you're concerned about this ship's future, Ensign, but don't think for a minute that means we should allow ourselves to sacrifice our humanity like that," Steve said as gently as he could. "I've seen how much wars can change people, and if you're not careful, thinking like that will do you no favors in the future. When I had fought in the past, I fought for freedom, and what you were suggesting wasn't freedom. It was forcing someone to do something against their will. I may not like that Kira is more than likely going to leave with the other civilians, but the fact of the matter is that it's his decision as to whether or not he stays or goes, and not ours. He may be a Coordinator, but that doesn't mean he should be treated as just another tool or a weapon. Try to keep all that in mind."

Natarle looked at Steve for a minute, letting the super soldier's words run through her mind as she did, until she finally nodded in understanding to the man out of time. She then saw that Steve was about to leave, and quickly called out, "Admiral Halberton will be coming aboard the ship later to speak with us. He may want to talk with you as well, Captain."

Steve nodded in understanding of this, and then turned to head for his quarters for a moment so that he could make sure that he was presentable when the fleet admiral arrived on the _Archangel_ , feeling quite eager to finally meet someone in a position such as that at long last as he went.

* * *

A few minutes later, Captain America, the _Archangel_ Crew, and Kira and his friends were all gathered in the hangar to welcome Admiral Duane Halberton aboard the ship, and the minute the doors to the shuttle that the admiral had come aboard in opened, Steve was able to get a good look at the man. At first glance, the admiral seemed like a very serious, battle-hardened man that did not take any nonsense from anyone, but after a few more minutes of looking, Steve could see that the brown haired, mustached man was the type to care a great deal for the sake of his allies. This was further enforced when the admiral finally spoke up as he approached them, saying, "You know, when I first heard of the collapse of Heliopolis, I was convinced that was the end. It's a joy to see you people here."

"You do us a tremendous honor, and it's a pleasure to see you again, sir," Murrue replied with a smile and a respectful salute when the admiral finally stood right before her.

Halberton gladly returned Murrue's salute with one of his own before he admitted, "I was a bit worried when I heard you were engaged in a battle earlier. Is everyone alright?"

Murrue nodded in reply to this before gesturing for the other officers to step forward and introduce themselves. "Ensign Natarle Badgiruel, sir," the _Archangel_ 's acting second-in-command reported with a salute.

"I'm Lieutenant Mu La Flaga of the Seventh Orbital Fleet," Mu then announced as he did the same.

Steve then took this time to step forward and introduce himself as well, and saluted the admiral as he said, "Captain Steve Rogers of the U.S. Armed Forces, former agent of S.H.I.E.L.D., and former member of the Avengers, sir."

Halberton's face immediately lit up with excitement at the last two introductions as he moved to shake hands with both the Hawk of Endymion and the first Avenger while he exclaimed, "We were fortunate indeed to have you with us, Lieutenant La Flaga, and it is an honor to meet you in person, Captain. I had heard the rumors of your return of course, but to see that they were true is a much more welcome matter."

"Well, I just wish I could've been of more service," Mu modestly admitted.

"It's a pleasure to meet you as well, Admiral," Steve then stated as he accepted the admiral's handshake. "I'm just glad I was able to help at all."

Halberton then noticed the Heliopolis students, and smiled when Murrue confirmed who they were for him before he moved to address the kids directly. "We've done some checking on the families of each one of you, and everyone is safe," Halberton revealed to the kids, bringing sighs of relief to all of them. "We'd like to extend our gratitude for your assistance during this crisis, and I'd like to add my thanks as well."

At this point, the aid that Halberton had brought with him pointed out that they were on a short schedule, to which Halberton nodded in reply. He then told Kira and his friends that he would like to have an opportunity to sit down and have a talk with them, and then waved for Steve and the other commanding officers of the ship to follow him as he left. Shortly after this, Steve was standing alongside Mu, Murrue, and Natarle in the Captain's Quarters as they reported on their ship's adventures since the incident at Heliopolis, and to say that the admiral and his aid were horrified by what they had heard was actually putting it mildly, to say the least. "How could they resort to such extreme measures as destroying Heliopolis all for the sake of this lone ship and a single G-Machine," the aid, who Steve learned was named Captain Hothman, exclaimed.

"Nonetheless, the fact that her crew was at least able to protect the Strike and this ship can be counted as a significant victory for the Earth Forces," Halberton stated.

"It would seem that Alaska does not share that view," Hothman revealed in dismay, gaining looks of confusion from Steve and the _Archangel_ 's commanders.

"What do they know about the realities of space combat," Halberton asked in argument of this. "Lieutenant Ramius has understood all along what I've been trying to achieve. Nothing in this matter warrants any concern."

"Yes Admiral," Murrue nodded in thanks.

Hothman then held up a clipboard with other notes as he said, "Moving on to the topic of the young Coordinator. Are we to forget all about him?"

Steve did not miss how Halberton's aid had asked that question, indicating that Hothman did not want to let Kira go off freely, and it was clear that Murrue had not either, as she immediately argued, "Kira Yamato only wanted to protect his friends. That was the sole reason why he climbed aboard the Strike for us. In all likelihood, we would not have made it this far if it weren't in some part for the abilities of that young man; however, his decision was dictated by events beyond his control, and he did suffer greatly from having to fight against his own people." Murrue paused in her statement for a moment to gather herself before she finished, "He's a kind, sincere boy, and I believe we should repay him for his selfless efforts with our complete trust."

"And yet, if we were to let him go now…" Hothman argued, deliberately letting his sentence trail off when he did.

"If I may interject, I myself agree with Captain Hothman's sentiment," Natarle revealed, gaining astonished looks from her fellow officers. Steve had actually been expecting this, so he was not as surprised as the others, even as Natarle continued in her argument. "Anyone can see he has amazing abilities, but he also knows the secrets of the G-Weapons, so I would not let him leave."

"Z.A.F.T. now possesses four of those machines," Halberton scoffed in reply. "Hardly a secret at this point."

"But sir, his strengths are a definite asset. I believe it would be in everyone's best interest to have him join the Earth Forces," Natarle continued to argue.

"But from what Lieutenant Ramius says, the boy has no intention of joining the military," Halberton pointed out. At this point, Natarle was considering suggesting that they would use Kira's parents to force him to fight, but she then remembered Steve's words from earlier, and elected to stand down on the matter from there. Halberton did not wish to let the matter drop there, as he honestly wanted to hear the opinions of the one man in the meeting who had not spoken at all in regards to Kira's situation. "What do you think, Captain Rogers?"

Steve glanced between the admiral and everyone else in the room before he gathered his thoughts and replied, "In all honesty, I do agree with Ensign Badgiruel in the fact that letting Kira leave would cost our forces a great deal of fighting strength, but at the same time, I also think that Lieutenant Ramius is right in her judgment. Kira Yamato is still a young man who should not have to have ever dealt with the horrors of war, and if he does not wish to remain with the military and continue fighting, then we should respect that decision."

Halberton nodded in agreement of this before he stood up and said, "What has passed is unimportant. The problem is what we do now." Halberton paused for a moment before he finally informed the four of their ship's new orders. "The _Archangel_ will be required to make its descent to the Alaska Headquarters with its existing roster of personnel."

"Sir, is that wise, considering that the _Archangel_ is rather short-handed at the moment," Steve then asked.

"The replacement personnel were lost along with the Advanced Fleet, so you can see our problem. We no longer have additional crew to allocate to the _Archangel_ ," Hothman reported, drawing disheartened looks to everyone's faces at the memory of what had happened to said fleet.

"Now because of the unfortunate incident with Heliopolis being destroyed, it's even more critical that we get the _Archangel_ and the G-Weapon with all its data down to Alaska," Halberton stated. His expression then narrowed a little before he passionately added, "We must get the G-Weapons' development back on track! Z.A.F.T. will no doubt continue to send new machines to the battlefield. It burns me that those pencil pushers who've been wasting precious resources on concessions simply see the number of soldiers lost in the battlefields as figures on paper!"

Everyone was silent for a moment at hearing the admiral's words, until Murrue finally smiled and saluted as she replied, "Very well, sir. I'll be sure to deliver that spirit of yours when we reach Alaska."

"As a surviving mobile armor pilot, that is one order I cannot refuse," Mu stated as he saluted the admiral as well, and the two were soon joined in their salute to the admiral by both Natarle and Steve shortly after, much to Halberton's gratitude.

"Now then, there's just two more matters to address," Halberton said as he looked to Captain America with a small smile. "While the Advance Fleet was carrying most of the replacement personnel and supplies for the _Archangel_ , we considered some of the resources for the ship too important to lose, as they would allow you to have an additional edge in the near future, should you decide to use any of it for any purpose, Captain Rogers."

Steve was then handed a clipboard with some data on the resources that Halberton mentioned, and after looking over the information, Steve had to admit, he could certainly understand why they thought these particular supplies would be beneficial to him, as he could already feel a plan forming in his mind on how to proceed with this equipment. "If that is the case sir, I'd like your permission to train a select group of soldiers for special combat operations sometime in the near future," Steve stated. "I can honestly say that, with the right training, some of the people I've seen fighting this war could be quite the soldiers, especially if they were to make use of this equipment."

Halberton nodded in understanding of this, and he simply replied, "I don't think you'd really need my permission to do as such, Captain, but I would certainly approve of that in a heartbeat. I'll be certain to start looking into potential candidates as soon as possible." He then pulled out a few more sheets of paper before he added, "That just leaves one last thing to address."

He then handed the papers to Murrue, Natarle, and Mu, and once the three held these papers, their eyes all widened in surprise before they looked to Halberton to make sure that they were not misunderstanding what was written there. Halberton's only response was to nod and say, "Congratulations you three. You've each just gotten promoted."

* * *

A short time later saw Steve heading for the hangar of the ship as he went over the list of supplies that Halberton had given him, and from what Steve could tell, everything on the list was more than likely enough for him to organize what could easily be a new generation of the Howling Commandos, but Steve knew that just having the equipment would not mean anything if it was not being used by the right people. Knowing this, Steve could not help but turn his thoughts to the students from Heliopolis. While he knew that they were setting things up so that the kids were officially enlisted in order to avoid any legal problems, Steve also knew that the kids were also being given discharge papers for that same reason, since they were all likely to be leaving with the other refugees, so it was really a bit of a wonder why Steve was even considering any of those kids to be part of something such as that. He knew the reason was because he had gotten to know them rather well in the short time they had been together, but Steve was not going to force anyone to stay if they did not want to, so naturally he was doing all he could to divert his thoughts on volunteers for such training to someone else.

His deep focus on these things kept him from really registering much of the conversation between Halberton and Kira that was taking place in front of the Strike, but not to the point that Steve did not register their presence at all. Steve knew that there was a likely chance that Kira would probably be having second thoughts about leaving the _Archangel_ , and would have talked to Kira about it, but Halberton quickly beat him to the punch when he voiced the exact same thing to Kira as Steve would have before moving to leave the ship. When the admiral saw Cap though, he changed his route to speak with the super soldier for a moment, both to make sure that everything on the list was to Steve's liking, and so that he could have one last chance to speak with the legendary Avenger one last time before he had to leave, a fact that Steve did not mind at all, even when Halberton had told his aid to go on ahead without him and that the admiral would return to his ship later with another transport.

Unfortunately, Halberton would never get the chance to leave the _Archangel_ , as the Eighth Fleet was quick to pick up on an approaching Z.A.F.T. attack force, and they all immediately went to red alert status. "I have to get back to the _Menelaos_ ," Halberton exclaimed when he heard the alarm go off.

"With all due respect, sir, there's no time for that," Steve argued. "Head for the bridge. It'll be much safer for you to remain aboard this ship than it would be for you to attempt to transfer should the attack begin while you're making your way back to the _Menelaos_."

Halberton nodded in consent of Steve's words, and immediately did as the super soldier suggested while Steve strapped on his helmet before jumping up to the cockpit of the Patriot so that he could prepare his machine for launch. Once he was aboard the Patriot, Steve could hear Halberton relaying orders to the fleet while Natarle gave out orders for the _Archangel_ 's battle preparations, though considering that the white warship was going to be descending to Earth, Steve was fairly certain that they would not be seeing any combat this time. Still, as he felt the ship shake under the force of explosions, the super soldier had to admit, that the chances of the ship sending out forces for combat were growing larger and larger by the minute.

At least they were until he heard an announcement coming through the speakers of the ship's intercom. _"All hands prepare for Atmospheric Entry Interface."_

Steve was shocked to hear this announcement, and immediately radioed the bridge to find out what was going on. When he did receive a response, he was surprised to find that it was Miriallia who replied. _"The captain believes that, since the enemy is after this ship, it would be better for us to leave the battlefield and attempt to land somewhere in Earth Alliance territory,"_ the young girl informed Steve. _"Admiral Halberton has already granted us authorization to proceed and is giving out orders for the Eighth Fleet to provide us with cover until we've made it far enough into the descent."_

"I understand," Steve nodded. "But what are you still doing here, Miriallia?"

 _"_ _I've officially enlisted,"_ Miriallia replied with a proud smile. _"All of us have, except for Kira. We just didn't feel right leaving the_ Archangel _like this when they were still short-handed."_

Steve had to chuckle a little in response to the girl's answer, as he felt very proud of those kids for their courage in staying in the military they had not originally wanted any part of. He was also a bit sad that Kira had not stayed as well, until he noticed the young Coordinator suited up in his pilot suit and heading for the Strike, immediately letting Steve know that Kira was not about to abandon anyone if he could make a difference. Steve smiled once again at the courage of such promising, young people before he brought his attention back to the matter at hand as he heard Halberton send out a message to the rest of the fleet.

 _"_ _Attention all vessels of the Eighth Fleet,"_ Halberton called out. _"This is Halberton. From here on, the focus of your energies will be to protect the_ Archangel _until it reaches the atmosphere's entry interface. We expect this to be a harsh battle, but if we're to win the conflicts that lie ahead, then we cannot afford to lose this ship. Reassemble the formation, and with the will and determination of the Eighth Fleet, I am sure that you'll make certain that not one single enemy gets through, and that history will forever remember the names of the ships in the Earth Alliance's Eighth Orbital Fleet. Show them what the Earth Forces are made of!"_

Steve could not stop the smile he was quickly gaining at hearing Halberton's speech, but he knew that words alone would not be enough to win the battle for the Eighth Fleet, even if it was just a battle to stall the Z.A.F.T. troops at this point. Steve could only hope that the soldiers of the fleet were willing to pay the price of their allies' freedom just as he had always been in every one of his past battles.

* * *

Up on the bridge of the _Archangel_ , Halberton found himself feeling ashamed that he was not on the bridge of his own ship while this battle was going on, but he knew that Steve was right to tell him to stay on the _Archangel_ instead of returning to the _Menelaos_ , so he just swallowed his pride and bared with it for the moment, knowing that he would have a chance to grieve the loss of all the soldiers that had lost their lives later on, as he had other things to worry about at the moment. This was proven true when word suddenly came in that the Duel and the Buster had broken through the defensive lines and were now fighting against the _Menelaos_ , further adding to the shame that Halberton was feeling.

Murrue wanted to say something in order to help her superior feel a little better, but she knew that now was not the time for such discussions, which was further enforced when she suddenly received a call from Mu. _"Captain, let us fight to the last second,"_ the now lieutenant commander requested.

"Don't be ridiculous," Murrue immediately denied. "You seriously want us to…"

 _"_ _According to the catalog specs, the Strike and the Patriot are both able to go through re-entry on their own if necessary,"_ Kira interrupted, surprising everyone at the fact that he was still aboard the ship and was currently in the Strike.

Murrue and Halberton both wanted to question Kira on why he was on the Strike when they were certain that he had left with the other refugees, but they were quickly cut off when Steve said, _"We don't have time to discuss reasons for anyone's being here. If this keeps up, the_ Menelaos _will be in serious danger. We can't just sit here and do nothing if we can help somehow and you know it, Captain Ramius."_

Murrue would not deny that what Steve said was true, but even so, she was still hesitant to let the pilots launch. Looking over to Halberton, she could tell by the look in his eyes that he wanted them to launch, but had no intention of forcing Murrue to give the order as the _Archangel_ was her ship, and the admiral did not wish to impose upon her commanding officer. Thankfully, he did not have to, as Natarle once again took matters into her own hands. "Alright then, but return before we reach Phase Three," the lieutenant ordered the pilots. "The specs may say that it's possible, but it hasn't actually been tested, so we don't know what'll happen to the interior of your machines. Keep a constant eye on the altitude and time."

 _"_ _Yes ma'am,"_ Kira replied before he cut the communication with the bridge.

Murrue was not appreciative of the fact that Natarle had once again circumvented her authority, and immediately moved to reprimand the now lieutenant junior grade, until Natarle argued, "If this ship is destroyed, the sacrifices of the Eighth Fleet will have been in vain."

 _"_ _She's right, Captain,"_ Steve told them as the Patriot was prepared for launch along with the Strike and the Mobius Zero. _"Those people are giving their lives just so we can make it through this alive, so we have to do whatever we can to make sure that it wasn't for nothing."_

Murrue finally stood down in her argument, seeing that she was outvoted this time, and sat down as she watched the two mobile suits and mobile armor launch from the ship into the battle, hoping against all odds that everyone would be alright.

* * *

"Even I've never made a sortie in this kind of situation," Mu commented once his machine had cleared the launch bay behind the Strike, with the Patriot following shortly after. "What about you, Cap? You ever do anything like this before?"

"I'll have to think about it and get back to you on that later Commander La Flaga," Captain America admitted. "For now, just focus on keeping the ship and as much of the Eighth Fleet as possible safe while engaging the Buster and Duel."

"Roger that," Kira and Mu both responded, and it was not a minute later that they were engaging the Buster and a newly upgraded Duel. As soon as he was in its sights, Kira found himself engaging the Duel in a relentless battle, leaving Mu and Cap to fight against the Buster. Thinking quickly, Mu engaged his mobile armor's gun barrels to send out some covering fire, allowing Steve to get in close so that he could slash the Buster with the Flag Saber's sword. Unfortunately, the Buster was able to slip away before Steve could so much as clip the long range specializing mobile suit, but Steve was not one to let that stop him, and immediately gave the Patriot's shield a hard toss towards the Buster. As the shield was getting closer, he folded the Flag Saber's sword up again and fired a blast from its rifle mode, which immediately rebounded off the shield and into the Buster's shoulder, disorienting the suit long enough for Steve to get in close and land a powerful kick to the enemy machine as he retrieved the Patriot's shield.

 _"_ _Not bad for an old man,"_ Captain America heard the Buster's pilot comment from over an open frequency. _"Guess Nicol really wasn't just saying it when he told us you were good for someone who's never even heard of mobile suits until a short while ago."_

"And I have to admit that you and your teammates are an extremely persistent bunch," Steve replied as he raised the Patriot's shield to block a volley from the Buster. "So what do I call you, Buster Pilot?"

 _"_ _Dearka Elsman, the best sharp shooter in the Z.A.F.T. Forces, and the man who's going to bring you down,"_ the Z.A.F.T. pilot responded with pride, and a bit of arrogance, combining the Buster's two rifles for a more powerful blast as he did.

"You're welcome to try, son, but you wouldn't be the first to do so," Cap replied as he swerved the Patriot through the Buster's barrage of beam blasts. As the captain brought his machine around for another attack, he thought he might take advantage of the time he had and asked, "Since I now know the names of a majority of your team, mind telling me who the Duel's pilot is? I wouldn't want him to feel left out."

There was no reply for a moment, until Dearka finally said, _"Duel's pilot goes by the name of Yzak Joule, and he's gonna bring down the Strike before you can even blink."_

The two then ceased all further conversation after Steve had stated that he had heard what Dearka said, and prepared to engage each other once more, until they noticed the Laurasia-Class ship was suddenly barreling directly towards the _Menelaos_. Thankfully, they were not the only ones, as Mu had quickly broken off to attempt to take out the Z.A.F.T. ship, but even with the damage it sustained, the Laurasia-Class just kept going, clearly indicating that it was making a suicide run. Unfortunately, there was nothing more that could be done, as the _Archangel_ 's forces had reached the end of their time limit, and now had to return to the ship, but while Mu had made a beeline for the ship, Kira and Steve found themselves unable to break off from their battles to make any attempts to do the same.

As they fell further and further into the atmosphere, the Strike and the Duel continued to hash it out against each other, neither one willing to give the other so much as an inch of an advantage in the battle, until finally, Kira gained the upper hand by slamming directly into his opponent and then kicking the Duel further away, granting him the chance to finally attempt to return to the _Archangel_ at last. Yzak was not willing to let Kira get away so easily though, and immediately raised his beam rifle in a desperate attempt to shoot Kira down, even as he descended further into the atmosphere along with Dearka. Before he could fire a shot though, a shuttle suddenly obstructed his view, and it did not take long for anyone to realize that it was from the now destroyed _Menelaos_. What took even less time to realize though, was that it was the same shuttle that was carrying the civilians that had previously been traveling on the _Archangel_ , but Yzak did not know that.

"You soldiers want to be cowards and run away, do ya," Yzak shouted at the shuttle, and he then fired. Kira could only watch helplessly as he fired the Strike's thrusters at maximum power, hoping he could reach the shuttle before it was too late, while everything seemed to slow down as the beam came closer and closer to the shuttle full of civilians. For a moment, it seemed as though the people aboard the shuttle were truly doomed, but then, a miracle happened. A miracle in the form of a familiar red, white, and blue shield intercepting the blast before it could hit the shuttle, and as soon as the blast dissipated, the shield was lowered to reveal the Patriot raising its rifle towards the Duel as it fired a series of beam blasts to force the Duel to back off.

Once the Duel was well away from the shuttle, Steve gunned his machine's thrusters so that they could get him over to Kira, and called out, "Kira, we need to get back to the ship, now!"

Kira immediately tried to push the Strike against the gravity well's pull, but the forces working against him were just too strong for him and his machine to handle, so unfortunately, he had to report, "I can't! I'm too far caught up in the gravity well! I'll have to try and bring the Strike down on my own."

"That's crazy," Cap protested. "Remember what Natarle said? The Strike's re-entry capabilities haven't been tested! There's no telling if you'll survive!"

"We don't have a choice at this point," Kira argued, and he immediately turned the Strike around so that it had its shield facing towards the Earth, beginning the machine's descent into the atmosphere as he did.

Steve could only curse under his breath at Kira's stubbornness, as it was clearly obvious even to him that the Strike was going to land in a completely different location than the ship, and given his own position, it did not seem likely that Captain America would be able to do any better, so he was left with only one option. " _Archangel_ , this Captain America, do you copy," Steve called out to the ship. "The Strike is unable to return to the ship, and I don't think the Patriot is in any better position to do otherwise. In addition, both of us seem to be heading for a remote location that will be a great distance away from the ship. Is there anything you can do from your end?"

For a moment, there was no response, indicating that they were more than likely discussing their options, until finally, Miriallia replied, _"Cap, we're going to try and bring the ship underneath both you and the Strike so that you both have a better chance at getting back."_

"Copy that," Steve replied, and he then maneuvered the Patriot as close to the Strike as he could in his current state, thankfully making it over to Kira just as the _Archangel_ came up beneath them, allowing them both to land atop the ship. Steve breathed a sigh of relief at this, and then felt himself losing consciousness, only faintly hearing the _Archangel_ 's bridge crew calling out to him and Kira before he finally passed out.

* * *

Sometime later saw Murrue and Halberton sitting in Captain America's quarters as they waited for the super soldier to wake up, and they were just joined by Mu when Steve finally began to stir and then awaken at last. Steve glanced around at the smiling faces before he asked, "Did we make it?"

"Yes, we're on Earth," Murrue said with a sad smile. "However, it came at the loss of the entire Eighth Fleet. We're all that's left of them now."

Steve nodded in understanding of this, as he knew full well the pain that Murrue and Halberton were most likely going through right now, and then slowly sat up, despite feeling a little dizzy and sore as he did. "What happened to Kira," Steve asked once he was finally sitting up straight.

"He was out cold by the time he landed on the ship," Mu replied. "He's in the infirmary right now, but aside from a fever and the fact he's unconscious, the doctor says he's going to be fine."

Steve smiled in relief of this, glad to hear that everyone seemed to be okay, until Halberton stood up and moved over to the map that was displayed on a nearby computer screen to inform Steve of their current condition. "This is our current location, and as you can see, it's quite a great distance from Alaska, and not only that, but our present location is also right in the middle of Z.A.F.T. territory," Halberton stated as he indicated a spot somewhere in Africa, and from what Steve could tell, it was also a fair distance away from where he knew Wakanda was as well, so there was not likely to be any chance of receiving help from them, assuming the home of Black Panther was still around.

"It had to be done though," Murrue then insisted. "Our alternative was to get separated from both you and the Strike, and we couldn't afford to do that."

"I understand," Steve nodded.

Murrue smiled in thanks to the captain before she looked to Admiral Halberton and saluted as she said, "Sir, I'm willing to relinquish command of the ship to you now, if you would like."

"Don't," Halberton immediately replied, drawing looks of confusion from the room's other occupants. "I may have seniority, but this is your ship, Commander Ramius, and right now, we can't afford to be changing anything in how its run, including command structure." Seeing that this was not likely going to be enough for Murrue, Halberton sighed and then added, "Alright then, I'll simply take an advisory position that will allow me to step in and give suggestions to you while at the same time allowing me to provide any insight or support to the decisions you make as captain of the ship. If anything happens in the future that command would not agree with, even in our present situation, then they'll have to get through me to get to any of you."

Murrue nodded in thanks to the admiral for this, and the two then shook hands to seal the deal. As Mu excused himself to go check on Kira, Steve found himself becoming lost in thought as to what would happen to the ship next, because it seemed that they had now just barely made it out of the frying pan, only to end up in a much more terrible fryer.

* * *

Since the _Archangel_ had been sitting out in the desert for almost a full twenty four hours without any sort of real cover beyond the number of sand dunes surrounding the ship, it was only natural that someone would eventually take notice of the mighty vessel. Whether or not they were the first to do so was not really much of a concern to the local guerilla fighters that were now gathered some distance away from the ship, as they were more concerned with confirming the ship's identity than anything else at the moment. Thankfully, one of their most recent additions was something of a well-informed expert on the ship and one of the mobile suits it was carrying, so it was not long before she told them whether or not it was what it seemed to be.

"I've really only seen a picture of it, but I'd still stake my life on it. That is the Earth Forces' new mobile assault ship constructed at the former resource satellite, Heliopolis. It's known as the _Archangel_ ," the young, blonde haired girl informed Sahib, the leader of the guerilla fighters known as the Desert Dawn.

Sahib nodded in recognition of the girl's observation before he asked, "And what would you make of the rumors about it having a second mobile suit in addition to the one that they were able to save from Z.A.F.T. when Heliopolis was attacked?"

"It's most likely just that, a rumor," the blonde insisted. "There were only five machines made at Heliopolis, so whatever people may be saying about there now being a sixth machine, it can't be nothing more than just some story that's meant to throw people off."

"I wouldn't be too sure of that, girl," a low, gruff voice suddenly argued, and the two turned to face the short, yet muscular man with dark hair, a slight shadow of a stubble on his chin and a pair of mutton-chops. The man in question seemed to be glaring at the white ship in the distance before he finally continued on with what he was saying. "It's no secret that if the Earth Forces brought him back, they'd be doing all they could to get Captain America in on the fight, so who's to say that they weren't secretly working on a mobile suit for him?"

"First off, the name's Cagalli, and you know it," the blonde snapped. "And second, that's just an urban legend that the Earth Forces have been using to keep morale up or something. The chances of Captain America just being real are about as high as the chances of that story about a sixth Earth Forces mobile suit are of being true. I'm telling you, there's no way it could be real."

The man just shrugged in response to this, clearly indicating that he was not going to listen to the girl's rant, when one of their radios suddenly beeped, letting them know that they were getting a call. "What is it," a boy named Ahmed requested after answering the hail.

 _"_ _The Tiger has left the_ Lesseps _,"_ the person on the other end reported, getting everyone's attention in an instant. _"He's headed towards that ship with a number of BuCUEs."_

Sahib gave a reply in understanding of the update and after letting Cagalli take a moment to stare out at the _Archangel_ for another minute, he led his troops to their vehicles so that they could prepare for the battle that was sure to come. The man that Cagalli had previously been arguing with took a bit more time to stare out at the ship as he whispered, "I really hope that the stories of you finally being back after all this time are true, because the world's gone even more insane than it ever was before, and I have no doubt that we need you now more than ever…Cap."

The man finally turned to climb into one of the jeeps at last, making a silent oath to give their enemies a taste of his wrath in the approaching battle, because if Captain America really was back, then perhaps it was time for the Wolverine to make his return to the battlefield as well.

* * *

 ** _AN: Well, that all happened. Halberton's alive while the rest of the Eighth Fleet has gone down, the_ Archangel _i_ _s on Earth, oh and hey look at that, Cap saved the civilian shuttle and the people aboard it from getting blown up by Yzak! Yay!_**

 ** _Yzak: Hey, I wouldn't have fired on that shuttle if I knew that those people were civilians!_**

 ** _AN: Why aren't you swimming for your life? I'm pretty sure those sharks are getting closer to you._**

 ** _Yzak: [looks to see the sharks are getting closer and immediately starts swimming again] AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHH!_**

 ** _AN: Well, moving on to more important things. I kept Halberton alive for a very important reason in addition to the reason that he gave Murrue when he refused to take command of the_ Archangel, _which will make itself clear later on in the story. Let me just say now that no, Halberton will never be taking over command of the ship, but he will be doing something important later on down the road._**

 ** _Finally, looks like our favorite, fiery blonde of SEED has made her appearance in this story at last! That's right, Cagalli's here, and she's not alone. Just who could this mystery man with Cagalli and the Desert Dawn be, and how does he know Cap? And what did he mean by...oh like I didn't already make it pretty obvious for you guys. Well, I think that I've bored you enough with all this, so Onto the Preview!..._**

 ** _The_** **Archangel** ** _Crew hopes to get some peaceful rest as Kira recovers from his previous battle, but unfortunately, any chances of recuperation are quickly lost when the ship is thrust into battle once again. When a fearsome Z.A.F.T. commander unleashes his forces on them, Captain America and Kira will have to do everything they can to ward off the enemy, but it's hard to say whether it will be enough. Just when things look their bleakest Cagalli appears on the battlefield along with an old friend of the captain's, leading Z.A.F.T. to find themselves dealing with a force that may as well be that of a savage animal. Next time on Shield of the Cosmic Era…_** **Chapter 6: Roaring Returns** ** _. Blast those new enemies down, Gundam and Captain America!_**

 ** _Please read and review, and I'll see ya next time, Gundam believers!_**


	6. Roaring Returns

_**AN: Hello faithful readers, followers, and fellow writers, I'm lyokoMARVELanime...**_

 _ **AXL999: And I'm AXL999...**_

 _ **AN: And we are proud to welcome you all to another exciting chapter of Shield of the Cosmic Era!**_

 _ **Yzak: I can't help but feel like you're putting a little too much focus on this story instead of Chaos Hunters after your last posting of it.**_

 _ **AN: Hey, give me a break man. I've had Avengers stuff on the mind lately, especially since Avengers: Age of Ultron came out on Blu-Ray, so it shouldn't be too surprising that I'm putting my focus on stories that have something to do with the Avengers in one way or another. Plus, considering that Code: Avengers story is close to being wrapped up, don't be too surprised if I put a very large amount of focus into that later on.**_

 _ **Yzak: Whatever. It's not like I care that much either way. I'm just getting tired of waiting for you to finish that story and get to the point in this story that Cap starts getting Kira and his friends to...**_

 _ **AN: DAH! SPOILER!**_

 ** _AXL999: I've got it! [hits control]_**

 ** _Yzak: [starts to say something, but is instantly cut off when a large, glass box drops down on him. Then tries to say something, but no sound makes it through]_**

 ** _AN: A sound proof glass box? Is that really it? I thought there was something else._**

 ** _AXL999: Wait for it..._**

 ** _Yzak: [Suddenly turns around slowly before going back to banging on the glass walls of the box in a mad panic as a swarm of snakes suddenly starts to pile up around him]_**

 ** _AN: Okay, now that's more like it! Trapped in a sound proof box full of snakes! Quick question though, you did check to make sure those weren't poisonous snakes, right?_**

 ** _AXL999: Uh, I thought you checked that._**

 ** _AN & AXL999: ...[start chuckling evilly]_**

 ** _AN: Well, that takes care of tormenting Yzak...I mean, preventing spoilers for this chapter, so sit back relax, and enjoy the next installment of this story everybody!_**

 ** _Neither myself or AXL999 own anything from any of the Gundam or MARVEL franchises or any other franchise mentioned in this story._**

* * *

 **Chapter 6: Roaring Returns**

The moon was high in the sky and shining down brightly on the vast deserts of Africa, as two men looked on at the massive, white ship that now lay before their eyes a short distance away from them. Both men were wearing trench coats that went down to a little ways past their knees and black boots, but the one lying in the sand and observing the ship through a pair of binoculars also wore a blue hat in addition to his outfit, while his commander let his dark brown hair flow freely in the small amount of wind that was blowing through the night. They were both more than a little intrigued when they heard from their allies in space that the infamous Legged Ship of the Earth Forces was going to touch down in their territory, so it was no surprise that they were carefully watching it after they had determined the enemy ship's current position. Eventually, the commander of the two, Andrew Waltfeld, broke the silence and asked, "So, how's the so-called 'Big Angel' doing?"

"Sir, no sign of movement what-so-ever," Waltfeld's trusted second-in-command, DaCosta reported.

"Must be because of the N-Jammers messing up radio wave conditions on the Earth's surface, so for now, she's all tucked in and quietly sleeping," Waltfeld observed to himself before he took a sip from the mug of coffee that was in his hands. A minute after he did, his eyes widened in mild surprise for a minute, prompting DaCosta to wonder what had grabbed the commander's attention. Waltfeld only smiled and replied, "Well, this time I decided to blend it with five percent less mocha matari. It's first rate."

DaCosta looked at Waltfeld like the man had lost his mind for a minute, before he immediately reminded himself of Waltfeld's strange hobby and that such comments were natural for the infamous Desert Tiger, and he then stood up as he followed his commander down the small hill of sand to their comrades bellow them. Looking over the troops and machines that they had gathered together made DaCosta wonder if Waltfeld was going a little overboard for an operation that was meant to determine the strength of the Legged Ship and its mobile suits, but given the fact that they had bested the Le Creuset Team, he figured that Waltfeld probably had every right to be a little cautious, especially considering the reports that said the legendary Captain America was with the Legged Ship. DaCosta's attention was then fully brought to his commander, as Waltfeld addressed the troops. "It's time," Waltfeld announced. "We will commence our operation against the Earth Forces' new ship, the _Archangel_. Our objective is to evaluate the battle strength of the vessel itself and the mobile suits onboard."

"Can we finish them off while we're at it," one of the soldiers asked, drawing snickers of amusement from the others and a slightly annoyed sigh from Waltfeld.

"We'll cross that bridge when we get there," Waltfeld replied to the soldier's question as he got the conversation back on track. "Remember to keep this in mind: the Le Creuset Team failed in its attempt to bring that ship down, and Halberton's Eighth Fleet sacrificed themselves to allow it to descend to Earth, so just be aware."

"Sir, what about that story that says that Captain America is with them? Do you think it's true," another soldier then asked.

Waltfeld looked at the soldier for a minute before he gave a lighthearted smile and shrugged as he said, "I'd much rather find out for myself through this battle, assuming that the machine he's said to be piloting makes an appearance, or even the man himself, but until then, I'm remaining skeptical of the claim." He then regained his serious expression and finished, "Now then, men, may fortune smile upon every one of you."

Everyone exchanged a salute before DaCosta gave the order for the pilots to board their machines, and the area was immediately abuzz with activity as the pilots boarded their BuCUEs and helicopters, while DaCosta himself climbed into a jeep along with Waltfeld. "When the coffee's first rate, so is everything else," Waltfeld said after comfortably seating himself in the jeep. "Alrighty, let's go fight us a war."

DaCosta nodded and shifted the jeep into gear as they drove off after their comrades, but he still could not stop himself from asking, "Sir, are you really that skeptical over the reports that say that Captain America has returned?"

"I wouldn't say that I'm extremely skeptical, DaCosta, but if someone told you that a man who is supposed to be a thing of legend from ancient history is now suddenly back from the dead, wouldn't you be a little hesitant to believe it without some form of truly hard evidence," Waltfeld asked. When DaCosta said nothing in response, Waltfeld took that to mean that his second in command agreed with him, and the two then allowed the rest of their trip towards the future battlefield to continue in silence. Deep down though, Waltfeld had to admit that he was looking forward to what may come from this battle if Captain America really was alive again and with the _Archangel_ , as the thought of facing off with the super soldier was a very enticing idea for him, to say the least.

* * *

Over on the _Archangel_ , Steve Rogers found himself letting out a small sneeze while he kept an eye out for anything on the bridge along with Ensign Neumann, Halberton, and Kuzzey. "Gesundheit," Halberton told the World War II captain, receiving a nod of thanks in reply from Steve a minute later.

Steve then glanced at the monitor that Kuzzey and Chandra were looking at, seeing the readouts of how great the radar interference was on the display just as Miriallia and Tolle arrived to begin their shift. "You're saying all this interference is because of those Neutron Jammers that Z.A.F.T. launched into the Earth," Steve asked at last.

"Yep, pretty much," Chandra nodded in reply. "It renders our radar completely unreliable, but it also does the same to the enemy's as well."

"And there isn't any way of getting rid of them?"

"None, it's completely impossible," Chandra confirmed once again. "They've been fired deep bellow the Earth's surface, and we don't even know how many there are. If it were possible, someone would've done it already."

"Radio waves and fission based energy have been adversely affected, but it's still a lot better than having nuclear missiles flying around," Halberton added in, giving his own two cents into the conversation. "If Z.A.F.T. had retaliated in kind after what happened to Junius Seven, there wouldn't be an Earth right now."

While Steve would not deny that not having nukes around was certainly a good thing, he could not help but think that the PLANTs had probably gone a little too far with launching the Neutron Jammers into the Earth like that, given what had happened to the economy of the planet as a result. It also raised the question as to why the world had not gone forward with the Arc Reactor technology that Tony Stark had been working on, but after thinking about what would have happened if such technology was used to make weapons once again, Steve had to admit that he could see why that was the case. These thoughts of his old, armored ally brought a small smile of nostalgia to Steve's face, as he could no doubt hear Tony arguing with both military forces in this conflict about why he would not allow his technology to be used in order to make weapons again, until Natarle suddenly came onto the bridge in order to relieve Halberton of his watch. Halberton thanked Natarle as he stood up from the captain's seat and moved to take a seat in the chair next to it, but both he and Steve had to pause for a minute when they saw that Natarle was handing them each a water bottle that she had brought up from the mess hall.

"Thanks," Steve nodded to the lieutenant.

"Don't mention it," Natarle replied with a small smile. "I figured you both could use something to drink after being up here for so long. When did Captain Ramius finally leave to get some rest though?"

"A few hours ago," Halberton replied. "Though given all that has happened, I'm not sure she's having a very peaceful rest right now."

There was certainly no denying that the recent events were quite taxing on Murrue, as evidenced by how much Steve and Halberton had insisted that she take a minute to leave the bridge and try to get at least a few hours' worth of sleep before she finally conceded, and in all honesty, Natarle could not help but feel partially responsible for her commanding officer's stress. If she had not allowed Kira and Steve to launch into battle while they were descending to Earth, then perhaps they would not have found themselves in their current situation so soon after they had just barely made it out of their last impossible situation. Steve was able to spot the signs of Natarle's distress from the look on her face, and immediately placed a hand on her shoulder in an attempt to comfort her, much to her thanks, but before anyone could say anything, the ship's sensors suddenly went off.

"What's going on," Natarle asked.

"Detecting lasers directed at this ship," Chandra reported from his station. "Matching…Confirmed! They're target designators!"

Halberton did not hesitate to give the order for all hands to report to Level Two Battle Stations, and Steve only gave the other bridge crew members a small nod before he raced out the door to the hangar himself. He passed Murrue on his way down there, and it was pretty clear from her expression that she had only gotten a small amount of sleep before the alarm went off, if the tired look in her eyes, and the disheveled state of her attire was anything to go by. Steve had to be careful to make sure that his eyes did not wander to her chest for too long, as even the shirt Murrue was wearing did little to hide it, even as she zipped up her uniform jacket, but he could have sworn that he spotted a small smile on Murrue's face just before she disappeared around the corner a minute later when she realized this.

After going a short distance from there, Steve found himself joined in his run to the hangar by Kira, who's uniform and hair were slightly more disheveled than Murrue's, and it was pretty clear to Steve what Kira had been doing before the alert went out. He had a rather decent idea of who Kira was with during that time, but he decided not to comment on it for the moment, as what Kira did with his social life was not any of Steve's business, even if he did have a strong hunch that the redheaded girl was not entirely honest about her feelings at the time. Still, he made a note to talk with Kira about it later, just to be safe, and grabbed his shield and helmet from the locker he had picked out for himself before joining his fellow pilots in climbing aboard their machines. A minute later, the ship was upgraded to Level One Battle Stations, and it was at this point that Steve picked up on a communication line opening between the bridge and the Strike.

 _"Come on, where's the enemy,"_ Kira demanded. Unfortunately, it did not seem that they were able to answer quickly enough for the young man, because a second later, he immediately stated, _"That's it! Strike is launching!"_

 _"Kira, wait. Not yet,"_ Miriallia tried to reason, but Kira did not seem willing to listen.

 _"Hurry up and open the hatch,"_ Kira demanded, angrily.

"Calm down, Kira," Steve then interrupted, making his own attempt to reason with the young man. "Just give the bridge crew another minute to determine the enemy's full strength and give the order to launch, and then we'll head out to engage them."

 _"Who cares, Cap?! They should just open the hatch and let us take care of them,"_ Kira snapped, and it was now even clearer to Steve than before that he would need to have a talk with Kira later. Before the argument could escalate any further, Murrue finally gave in to Kira's demands and ordered that the Strike and Patriot be moved to the catapult so that they could engage the enemy units.

"Captain, are you sure this is the best idea," Steve asked, wanting to make sure that Murrue was making the best decision.

 _"I may not like Kira's attitude at the moment, but we have little choice but to let you two go out there. The ship's guns are useless against moving targets like these,"_ Murrue reasoned, though Steve could detect a slight hint of anger in her tone, so he simply nodded and let the matter drop as his machine was moved into launch position. A few minutes later, the two Gundams were launched out into the star-lit, desert skies, ready for action, but the minute they hit the ground, both pilots found that there was one thing that they had not counted on, and that was how well their machines would perform both under gravity and out in the desert. Both machines were stumbling and struggling to stand upright for more than a few minutes on the ever shifting dunes of sand beneath their feet, but in the case of Steve, he was finding it surprisingly difficult to use his machine's Flag Saber as effectively as before.

"For a weapon that's made of vibranium, this sword is surprisingly heavy under gravity," Steve muttered to himself as he raised his shield in order to defend himself against the missile barrage that rained down on both him and Kira a few minutes after they had managed to get their machines into a secure standing position. A quick glance in the Strike's direction elicited a sigh of relief from the super soldier when he saw that Kira was able to activate the Strike's Phase Shift armor just before the missiles had struck, and that the young man was now attempting to lock on to the enemy attack helicopters with the Agni that the Launcher Striker Pack gave his machine. It did not matter though, as the helicopters quickly disappeared behind the nearby dunes before Kira could establish a lock, much to his irritation.

Kira was preparing to have the Strike jump into the air so that he could try to spot the helicopters, when he and Cap were both suddenly attacked by a sudden missile barrage. Looking to the source, the two were greeted by a squad of mobile suits that had the appearance of a dog as opposed to that of a humanoid appearance that many other mobile suits had, and some were equipped with a set of railguns or a missile launcher. There was not much time to consider the newly arrived mobile suits, as Steve and Kira were both forced on the defensive when a pair of the enemy machines suddenly pounced at them, throwing them both off balance and causing their machines to fall onto their backs, giving the other enemies the chance to fire a missile barrage on them both. The Patriot was able to survive most of the barrage since it had its shield, but the Strike had to take the full brunt of the attack as it shielded itself with one of its arms, eliciting a great deal of concern for its pilot from Steve.

"Kira, are you okay," Steve shouted over the explosions.

"Not really," Kira admitted. "These guys are constantly ducking away faster than I can get a slightly decent lock on them, and I can barely keep the Strike standing up straight in all this sand. I might be able to rewrite the Strike's OS to deal with the latter of those two problems though, but what about you?"

"I'm having a similar problem maneuverability-wise with the Patriot, but don't worry about me. You just focus on dealing with the enemy," Steve ordered.

"But I could help you fix your machine's OS as well," Kira said.

"You've got enough to worry about as it is. If you try to walk me through rewriting the Patriot's OS for ground combat, then it'll just distract you from the main problem at hand," Steve argued. "Like I said, don't worry about me. If it comes to it, I'll pull the Patriot back."

"What?! You're thinking about giving up," Kira exclaimed, hardly believing what he just heard.

"I never said that," Steve immediately corrected. "I just said I would pull my machine back. I never said I would be pulling out of the battle."

Now Kira was confused, as he was not entirely sure what Steve meant by what he said, but his thoughts were quickly averted when he suddenly heard Miriallia telling him and the super soldier to move from their position. Unfortunately they were not able to do so quickly enough, and they found themselves being hit from all sides by a number of missiles that the _Archangel_ fired in a failed attempt to give the two machines some support. "Hey, watch where you're shooting," Steve called out to the ship.

 _"Sorry Cap,"_ Natarle apologized. _"But we couldn't just sit here and watch while you two were getting hounded by those BuCUEs. Besides, both yours and Ensign Yamato's machines are equipped with armor that should've protected you from any serious damage."_

Steve knew that Natarle was right, but that did not mean he was okay with it. If possible, he wanted to avoid getting hit by friendly fire, even if he and Kira could take the hit, after all, there was only so much any armor could take before it finally failed, and the Strike was on even more of a time limit than the Patriot was.

* * *

"Well would you look at that," Waltfeld commented as he continued to observe the battle from afar. "The ship's commander isn't too kind to its own pilots…or perhaps the commander has faith in the pilots."

DaCosta could do nothing at the moment but nod in acknowledgement of his commander's observation. So far they had seen both the infamous Strike and Patriot of the _Archangel_ take quite a beating from their forces as the two tried to fight back, but the fact that either machine could lift their large, and undoubtedly heavy weapons at all was an impressive feat in and of itself. Then again, there was also the possibility that the two weapons were actually lighter than they appeared to be, but he was not willing to consider that likely just yet, given how slow the Patriot seemed to move as it readied its sword-rifle a few times before firing. A minute later, the Strike launched itself into the air and fired its large cannon on the BuCUEs in an attempt to land some shots on them, but the BuCUEs kept evading the Strike's blasts effortlessly. Thankfully, the Strike had the Patriot covering it when it landed, as the red and blue mobile suit had taken up defending them both with its shield, which had yet to have gained even the slightest scratch of damage, from what DaCosta and Waltfeld could tell.

"They certainly are first rate mobile suits, and the same can be said for the pilots," Waltfeld suddenly said, drawing DaCosta out of his observations once more. "However, in the desert, a single humanoid mobile can never surpass a BuCUE, let alone two."

Waltfeld soon found himself reconsidering this though, when the Strike landed on the dunes beneath it once again, slid for a minute, and then suddenly stopped after gaining a solid footing. His shock began to grow even more when the Strike effortlessly knocked one BuCUE off its feet and through the air, before the white and blue mobile suit pinned a second one beneath him and then destroyed it with a powerful blast from its beam cannon at point-blank. "Has the pilot already adapted his movement programs to account for the desert sand," Waltfeld wondered aloud. "No natural could possibly do such a thing." This statement seemed to be reinforced by the fact that the Patriot was still struggling to move effectively in the desert environment, but Waltfeld did not want to take any chances on the Patriot adapting as quickly. "Relay this to the _Lesseps_ ," Waltfeld told DaCosta. "Fire main cannons at the enemy ship."

DaCosta nodded in response and immediately relayed the orders, hoping that some of the shots hit the Strike so that they could finish him off for what he had done to their comrade just now.

* * *

Steve was extremely hesitant to throw the Patriot's shield at the BuCUEs, as he found himself needing to hold on to the large replica of his trusted shield quite a bit, both for his sake and that of Kira's, but given how quickly Kira seemed to adapt the Strike for desert combat, he was beginning to wonder if he should really worry about the young man so much. This wonder immediately ceased when he found himself transferring his concern to the _Archangel_ , as it was suddenly hit by an explosion that could only have come from being hit by enemy fire. Captain America was not certain where the blasts had come from, but he knew for a fact that it was not from any of the BuCUEs or helicopters, as those machines were all focusing solely on him and the Strike, so the only possibility left was that there was an enemy transport that was just close enough to fire on the _Archangel_ while still being out of their visual and sensor range.

Steve did not bother to think about the enemy vessel that much, especially after seeing one of the new Skygraspers launch from the _Archangel_ and then fly off in the direction that the blasts had come from, as a minute later, another barrage of enemy fire was lighting up the sky, and heading straight for the ship. Cap was about to intercept the blasts as best he could, when Kira suddenly beat him to it by knocking one of the BuCUEs into the path of one blast and then intercepting the others with the Strike's Agni Beam Cannon. "Nice shooting, Kira," Captain America called out.

"Thanks, but we can't relax just yet," Kira replied with a concerned undertone in his voice. "I've used the Agni way too much, and now my suit's power levels have fallen dangerously low."

Steve's worry for Kira immediately returned in full when he heard that, because he knew that the minute the Strike's power levels fell low enough, the Phase Shift Armor would shut down, and Kira would be even more vulnerable to the enemy's attacks. Steve honestly wished that there was something more he could do to help out right now, but given how limited the Patriot's own capabilities were at the moment, there was nothing more he could do than fire a few rounds of suppressing fire from the Flab Saber's beam rifle mode in an attempt to keep the BuCUEs away from his young comrade. His efforts did not last for long though, as one squad of helicopters eventually made it past his barrage and landed some successful shots on the Strike, sending the mobile suit down to the ground once again, before forcing the Patriot to the ground as well. Captain America then prepared to do something extremely risky in an attempt to save both himself and Kira while their enemies surrounded them, when the sound of a missile soaring through the air caught his attention. He turned to the where the sound originated from, and immediately spotted a rocket heading straight for the Z.A.F.T. helicopter before the air craft exploded upon being hit.

"Where did that come from," Kira asked as he looked around to behind him.

"I think it was probably them," Steve answered when he spotted the source, which turned out to be a reasonably sized team of jeeps racing across the sands and firing even more missiles at the Z.A.F.T. forces as they approached.

Eventually, one of the jeeps pulled to a stop alongside the Strike, and a passenger immediately connected a communication line to the machine before Kira and Cap both heard a female voice saying, _"Attention pilot of this mobile suit. If you and your friend want to live, do exactly as I say. There's a trap set at the location indicated on your screen. I'll need one or both of you to lure the BuCUEs there."_

This statement proved that these people were certainly allies to Kira and Steve at the moment, as they were clearly resistance fighters, so it was not hard for them to feel that they could trust them, at least for the moment. Kira was about to have the Strike take off for the location that had been indicated when another BuCUE suddenly pounced on him, forcing the people in the jeep to race away before they were crushed beneath the massive machines. Kira was ready to force the BuCUE off him, but he was spared the trouble of doing so when someone from the jeep suddenly jumped at the Z.A.F.T. mobile suit and planted a number of bombs along the machine that immediately blew the BuCUE off the Strike and into spare parts, all while giving off a feral yell. A yell that Captain America recognized quite easily, and smiled in response to hearing.

Hearing this gave Captain America all the more reason to trust these people, and he then radioed the _Archangel_ saying, "Captain America to _Archangel_ , I'm pulling the Patriot back to the ship and engaging the enemy myself."

 _"What,"_ Natarle shouted. _"You can't be serious! Even you can't fight against a mobile suit without using one yourself!"_

"Hey, I've knocked out Hitler, taken down HYDRA, and brought down a number of planes with nothing more than my shield and bare hands. I think I can manage," Steve smirked in reply, and he quickly blasted towards the _Archangel_ before setting the Patriot to autopilot for the rest of the journey back to the ship and grabbing said shield just as Kira began leading the BuCUEs towards the trap that the resistance fighters had laid. He could only smirk at the thought of the looks on the Z.A.F.T soldiers' faces when they saw what he was planning to do in a moment.

* * *

"Sir, it looks like the Patriot is falling back to the ship," DaCosta reported.

Seeing this immediately confused Waltfeld, as he was sure that the Desert Dawn's arrival would have encouraged the Earth Forces mobile suits to keep fighting until the resistance group pulled off whatever they had planned. Whatever the Patriot's pilot was planning was probably something that was truly unexpected and equally unbelievable if it felt the need to retreat for a minute, but the matter of what it actually was completely eluded Waltfeld.

* * *

Just when he thought that the Patriot was high enough, Captain America opened his cockpit and jumped out of the machine, even as he set it to continue firing its Vulcans until it reached the _Archangel_ , with his shield in front of him. In no time at all, he had landed on top of one of the BuCUEs, and slammed the edge of his shield into the eye of the machine that he knew the main camera was housed in, effectively rendering the machine blind to most of its surroundings. Steve then flipped himself over on to the BuCUE's back and tossed his shield towards one of the engines on the mobile suit's wings, causing it to explode the minute the shield hit, and throwing the BuCUE off-balance as Cap jumped and flipped across its back while he retrieved his shield. He then used the vibranium shield to slice through the railguns that were mounted on its back before tossing the shield into the other wing's engine, and then leapt off before it landed on its back.

Looking around, Steve saw the Strike land a few feet away from where he was, admittedly being surprised at how far he had come while fighting off that one BuCUE, and he immediately ran towards the machine as he waved it down. When Kira saw this, he immediately lowered the Strike's free hand down to Cap, allowing the super soldier to climb into its palm. Once he was kneeling down in the Strike's hand, Captain America called up to Kira, "Get ready to throw me at another BuCUE! I'll see if I can incapacitate a few more so that you don't have to worry about as many."

Kira thought Cap was a bit crazy to have tried taking on one BuCUE in the way he did a minute ago, but after seeing him take it out, he could only nod in agreement with the super soldier's plan, so when he heard Steve give him a signal, Kira had the Strike throw Captain America as hard as it could towards the nearest BuCUE. Steve landed on top of the machine without any trouble, but a quick glance across from him immediately told him he was not the only one on top of the dog-like mobile suit, and he could not stop the smile as he said, "I figured that it was you who forced that BuCUE off the Strike a minute ago. After all, only you would jump at a massive, metal enemy in a near blind rage like that…Logan."

Logan only smirked in response before he replied, "Good to see you too, Cap, and to be fair, there isn't anyone out there who has more experience with taking on machines like this than an X-Man."

"True," Steve conceded. "But how about we catch up later and deal with these guys for now."

"Gladly," Logan replied as his smirk widened. "I've been just itching to remind Z.A.F.T. what happens when you tangle with a wolverine!"

The minute Logan shouted that last sentence, a set of silver, metal claws popped from both of his hands, and it was not long after that the feral mutant was slashing and slicing at the BuCUE he and Captain America were on top of, while Steve disabled the machine even further with his shield. Once they were certain that they had dealt as much damage as they could, Logan tossed a pair of bombs into a secure point on the BuCUE, and jumped off the machine and into a waiting jeep along with Cap, just as the BuCUE went up in a brilliant explosion. Upon seeing that the Strike had lead the remaining BuCUEs into the trap that Logan's new allies had set and was now clear, Logan looked over to another jeep close by and shouted, "Whenever you're ready, girl!"

Steve looked to where Logan had shouted, and spotted a young, annoyed looking, blonde haired woman nodding to his old friend before activating a triggering device, and a minute later, the area that the BuCUEs were in was lit up with massive explosions. Steve could only smile in relief that the battle seemed to be over, as the remaining survivors of the Z.A.F.T. Forces immediately began a hasty retreat, and he then looked to his old friend and said, "Not bad, soldier."

"Not bad yourself, old man," Logan smirked in reply as he watched the show unfolding before him. He then looked over to the blonde girl again and asked, "So girl, what was that you were saying about Captain America not being real, again? Or how about you remind me of how his revival was supposed to be just some rumor?"

"Oh shut up," the blonde huffed angrily. Logan could only laugh at the girl's response before he moved off to the side a little bit with Steve in order to catch up a bit before the next part of the show that was unfolding out in the desert began.

* * *

As his forces were falling back to the _Lesseps_ , Waltfeld could only smile at what he had witnessed at the end of the battle just now, as he had now seen Captain America in action, and given how the super soldier had single-handedly taken out one of the BuCUEs without his mobile suit, the Desert Tiger could now say without a doubt that he finally believed that Captain America was indeed alive and fighting alongside the _Archangel_. "Quite the show, huh DaCosta," Waltfeld asked.

"Yes sir," DaCosta admitted. "I never expected someone other than the Desert Dawn and other resistance fighters to try and fight a BuCUE without a mobile suit, let alone without any weapons at all."

"I wouldn't go that far DaCosta," Waltfeld argued. "He did have a weapon on him."

DaCosta was of course confused by this statement, and quickly proved this as he pointed out, "But sir, all he had on him was a shield."

"Yep, and in the hands of Captain America, that is most definitely a weapon, wouldn't you agree," Waltfeld asked in reply. DaCosta could do nothing more than nod in agreement with his superior, prompting Waltfeld to add, "We may have lost the battle, but we achieved our objective of determining the enemy's strength, and in the process we discovered that the rumors of Captain America being alive were in fact true, along with one other fact as well."

"What would that be sir," DaCosta asked.

Waltfeld smirked when he answered that question. "That mutants are still around after all, including one mutant in particular." Seeing the bewildered expression DaCosta had, Waltfeld then elaborated, "I can only think of one person in all of history that could have torn through those BuCUEs like that other guy had while giving out that roar we both heard, and I'm sure you saw the claws that were in his hands as well as I did, which means that another rumor that's been going around is true as well."

DaCosta's face immediately became a little grim at what his commander was saying, and he immediately voiced that rumor aloud in response. "The infamous Wolverine of the X-Men is still around and fighting against Z.A.F.T."

* * *

Morning had come by the time that the _Archangel_ crew had finished gearing up for a meeting with the resistance fighters that had saved them the previous night, and Murrue would be lying if she were to say that she was not glad that both Halberton and Mu were going to be meeting them with her. She was also very glad that Captain America was going to be out there as well, but she knew that was mostly because he was already out there talking with one of the members of the resistance group, and even from the bridge one could tell that the two were talking like they were old friends. This was actually rather strange to Murrue and the others, as they were certain that while Steve was very easy to talk to and get along with, there should not be much of a chance of someone talking with him in the way that particular soldier in the grey muscle shirt and dark blue pants was right then.

Still, the fact that Steve had opened up dialogue with just one member of the group so easily did serve to boost everyone's confidence for the meeting that was about to take place between the two leaders, so Murrue made sure to hold her head high with a smile on her face as she approached the local resisters while Halberton and Mu stood on either side of her, both ready to take any action if necessary, while Kira remained on standby in the Strike, should the need for him to take action again arise, as even while its Phase Shift armor was out of power, the Strike was still more than capable of fighting against a group like these people if necessary. "It's only proper that we should thank you. After all, your group did save our ship and mobile suits," Murrue began once she had approached the leader of the resistance fighters, a man with tan skin, a brown beard, grey gloves, brown pants, black boots, a blue shirt, a dark green vest, and a light green bandana. She then went on to introduce herself, saying, "I'm Lieutenant Commander Murrue Ramius, captain of the _Archangel_ of the Earth Forces Eighth Fleet."

"How is that? Wasn't the Eighth Fleet completely wiped out by the enemy," a young boy suddenly asked, getting the three officers' attention, and a slight grimace at the reminder of what had happened to their allies.

The leader of the resistance fighters was able to pick up on this quickly and thus raised a hand as a way to signal the boy to keep quiet before he introduced himself and his forces. "Our group is known as the Desert Dawn, and I go by the name of Sahib Ashman," the man stated. "You need not bother thanking us. I'm sure you understand, but the reason we were fighting was not necessarily to save you. We attacked them only because they also happen to be our enemy."

"You guys versus the Desert Tiger? Been fighting for a while," Mu asked, cutting in to the conversation as he did, and drawing Sahib's attention on to him.

"I recognize you, but I cannot say how or from where," Sahib admitted to the mobile armor pilot in slight confusion.

"My name is Mu La Flaga, but I don't know a living soul in these parts," Mu clarified with a casual shrug like it was no big deal.

"I never expected to meet the Hawk of Endymion in a place such as this, but then again I never expected to meet the great Admiral Halberton either, or to find out that the legends of Captain America were true, and yet here I am doing all that," Sahib chuckled.

"Well you certainly seem quite well informed, Mister Ashman," Halberton commented with an impressed look on his face that was matched by Murrue. "Just how much do you know about us though?"

"You are the crew of the Earth Forces' new assault ship, the _Archangel_ ," Sahib recited proudly. "You descended to Earth to escape Le Creuset's team, and have been rumored to be responsible for reviving Captain America and bringing him back into the battlefield with a mobile suit known as the Patriot, and that other machine of yours is…"

"X105 Strike," a young, blonde haired woman cut in with a slight amount of venom in her voice, drawing confused looks from the Earth Forces soldiers, along with a small side glance from Sahib. "That's what they call this thing," the girl then added a little more calmly. "It's one of the Earth Forces' new prototype mobile weapons."

"You really need to know when to keep your cool and keep your mouth shut, girl," the man that Steve had been talking to told the blonde, drawing a glare from the girl the minute he did.

"You're not exactly one to talk about keeping your cool, Logan," Steve remarked in slight jest as he playfully slapped the man on the back, gaining a grunt in response that lost any malice it could have carried due to Logan's smile.

"So, here we are," Sahib interrupted in an attempt to get things back on track. "How good it is that we know who you are and you know who we are. I must say though, we were surprised to see you land in such an unfortunate location. I can only assume that you landed in this place by accident, but now that you're here I'm curious to know what you plan to do."

Murrue exchanged a glance with Halberton, Mu, and Steve, as they could no doubt gain a few benefits from working with these guerillas, and after receiving discreet nods in reply from them, Murrue looked back to Sahib and asked, "Can we count on your full cooperation?"

Sahib stared at the three Earth Forces soldiers for a minute before he finally chuckled, "If you're serious about talking, you should lower your guns first." That one statement was all anyone needed to realize that Sahib knew that the _Archangel_ 's commanding officers had some of their crew members standing in the airlock with firearms ready just in case the meeting went bad the entire time, which while not entirely unexpected was still quite shocking, to say the least. Sahib then looked to the Strike and added, "He should disarm as well."

Murrue and the others did not take long to think about Sahib's request before agreeing to the man's terms, and Murrue then ordered her soldiers to stand down before asking Kira to join them on the ground. She could already hear Natarle complaining about this later, but at the moment, she did not really care, as silent mutterings and whispers were soon breaking out among the Desert Dawn when Kira finally revealed himself to them, all of them being about the fact that Kira was so young for a mobile suit pilot. When the blonde girl from before suddenly ran up to Kira, Murrue was a little shocked at her actions, but her shock quickly increased along with that of some of the others around her when they heard the blonde softly say, "So it is you."

This silent exclamation drew up new questions in everyone's minds, naturally starting with how the blonde knew Kira in the first place, while Mu looked as though he was preparing to act in case the girl did something, only to back off with a friendly smile when one of the other Desert Dawn members suddenly stepped in his way. "What is someone like you doing here," the blonde demanded before she tried to punch Kira.

Kira caught the girl's fist in a way that was almost comical, but soon found his eyes widening as he finally remembered where he had met the blonde in front of him. "You're that girl I met back at Morgenroete," Kira gasped, as the memory of when he chased after this same girl came back to him, along with the memory of how it was because of that action that he ended up finding the Strike in the first place.

"Let go of me, you jerk," the girl then shouted as she managed to pry herself loose and landed a hard slap on Kira's face.

"Cagalli," Sahib shouted, immediately getting the girl to calm down a little. Cagalli just glared at Kira for a minute before she spun around on one heel and stomped back over to her comrades, leaving a very bewildered and shocked Kira to stare at her as she did.

"Still think I'm not one to talk when I told her to learn when to keep her cool," Logan asked Steve.

"A little bit, actually," Steve admitted.

"Okay, before you two go any further, would you mind telling us who this guy is, Cap," Mu asked, getting everyone's attention. "You seem to know each other pretty well despite having just met."

"We didn't just meet, Bub," Logan corrected. "Cap and I actually go way back. All the way back to World War II in fact."

"Care to explain how that's possible, Logan," Sahib asked, as this was the first he had heard of the most feral member of the Desert Dawn knowing Captain America, and while he did have his suspicions as to how it was possible, the leader of Desert Dawn wanted to hear it from Logan himself.

Logan simply smirked as crossed his arms, held one fist up, and popped his claws as he stated, "Let me put it to you this way: The name's Logan, alias Wolverine of the X-Men, and even after all these years, I'm still the best there is at what I do, and what I do, isn't pretty."

Steve let the silent shock that had swept over everyone there sit for a minute, as he knew full well that it was not every day that these people not only found out that someone like Logan was still alive, but met that same person as well, and he then finally chuckled, "All these years, and you're still saying that like it's never going to get old?"

"You should talk," Logan retorted while he retracted his unbreakable claws, thinking that everyone had gotten a good eyeful from seeing them by now. "I know you're just waiting for a chance to say that whole 'just a kid from Brooklyn' line of yours even though it got old after the Forties."

Steve shrugged in response, showing that he was not going to confirm or deny Logan's accusations, and then asked, "So, can you tell me when I can likely meet the Cosmic Era's version of the X-Men, or is the group going by a different name now?"

At hearing his old team's name, Logan's face fell a little, and he could not stop the sigh that came out when he replied, "Sorry Cap, but there are no X-Men, and there haven't been for years now. In fact, mutants are now practically an endangered species that's bordering on being completely extinct save for me."

Now it was Steve's turn to be shocked, as he knew that mutants would likely be facing a different kind of life now that most of the world's prejudice was directed to the matter of Naturals and Coordinators, but he never dreamed that it would be anything like this. More to the point, Steve knew how much the X-Men meant to Logan, so to hear that the team of mutant heroes no longer existed made Cap just as sad for his old friend as he was for the fact that they were no longer around period. Shaking himself out of his stupor, Steve finally found the courage to ask the million dollar question that Logan probably would not like answering. "What happened?"

Logan hesitated for a minute, sparing a small glance in Kira's direction that everyone other than Steve missed, until he finally answered, "It's a long story, but the short version is that, in some ways, Coordinators happened. I'd rather tell you about it later though, if you don't mind. I get the feeling that we'll be having much more important discussions later on at a better location that isn't so out in the open."

Steve nodded in acceptance of this, and immediately joined Murrue, Kira, and the others in returning to the _Archangel_ after Sahib offered to lead them to the Desert Dawn's current base camp, all the time wondering just how Coordinators could have been responsible for the near extinction of the mutant population of Earth as he did.

* * *

 ** _AN: Well, that's a wrap on that. If any of you are wondering why I had Cap take on the BuCUEs himself instead of trying to adapt the Patriot's OS like Kira did with or without Kira's help, the answer is quite simple, yet also multi-reasoned. Reason number 1: Like Cap said earlier, Kira had enough to deal with in regards of modifying the Strike's OS, fighting the BuCUEs and protecting the_ Archangel _as it was. There's no way that Steve was going to add on to that by having Kira walk him through such complex programming. Reason number 2: Captain America is not a major science or computer genius, especially in regards to such futuristic technology. He may be able to handle basic computer functions that any other person can do, but you have to also keep in mind that if Cap could do something as complex as modifying a mobile suit's OS on his own, then he wouldn't need to get help from Iron Man or Black Widow when he needed someone who could hack or just someone who was a major genius. Cap's a warrior, a fighter, not a scientist, so it makes sense that he wouldn't try to modify the Patriot's OS on his own in the middle of a fight. Reason number 3: I just really wanted to have a scene where Cap took down a mobile suit on his own without any help from something like the Patriot, using nothing but his advanced tactical mind, quick thinking, reflexes, and trusty shield. Seriously, all of us who've seen any of the movies that Cap's been in have seen the guy take down stuff like Quinjets on his own, and the guy has fought against guys like Loki and Ultron, so it's not like it would be too much of a stretch to say that Captain America to defeat a mobile suit like that fairly easily, and really, show of hands, who else wanted to see Cap do that? Come on, don't be shy, there's no harm in admitting it._**

 ** _Moving on, yay, Wolverine's here and in on the action! Like we didn't all see that coming, but uh-oh! The X-Men are no more, mutants are at the point of near-extinction, and apparently, Coordinators are responsible?! Oh lyokoMARVELanime, just what is going on?! What insane, twisted, yet logical idea is running through your head in this regard of the timeline of this story?! How could you do such things lyokoMARVELanime, you crazy, clever, twisted...oh wait, lyokoMARVELanime's me, and your the ones that are supposed to be asking those questions. Well I'm just going to go ahead and say...sorry, not telling! At least not yet. You'll find out what happened next chapter._**

 ** _Finally, I have a bit of a confession to make in regards to something in this story. Despite all our discussions, AXL999 and I just can't seem to decide on who to pair Captain America up with in this story._**

 ** _AXL999: I thought we agreed we were going to table that matter for now._**

 ** _AN: I know, but my curiosity as to what the people think is just so great that I have to ask this question. Anyways, if you were paying attention earlier on, I've alluded that both Natarle Badgiruel and Murrue Ramius were both candidates for being Captain America's new love interest, at least in this story, but I honestly can't decide which way to go in that regard. Don't get me wrong, I do love the pairing of Murrue &Mu, but I can honestly see a pairing between our favorite captain of the _Archangel _and Captain America happening, and I doubt I need to explain that many reasons as to why pairing the first Avenger up with Natarle would be a great idea as well._**

 ** _So when you post your reviews, please be honest with me, and tell me who you guys think would be better as Captain America's love interest in this story between Murrue and Natarle. It can be for whatever reason, you don't have to explain if you don't want to, just let us know which you think is better and which you would like to see happen._**

 ** _AXL999: I guess that wraps things up for now. Onto the..._**

 ** _AN: HEY! We may be partners, but that doesn't mean you can say my lines. I say my lines!_**

 ** _AXL999: Sorry, got caught up in the moment._**

 ** _AN: It's cool. Now then, Onto the Preview!..._**

 ** _The heroes of the_** **Archangel _discuss their next plan of action with the Desert Dawn, and Logan reveals what had happened to mutant kind since Captain America was put into cryogenic stasis. Just how exactly are Coordinators responsible for the decline of mutants over the years, and what sort of horrors will our heroes need to prepare themselves for if they wish to escape the Z.A.F.T. controlled desert? When burning skies draw the Desert Dawn into action once again, can Kira, Captain America, and Wolverine provide Cagalli, Sahib, and the others with the support they need before it's too late, or will more lives be lost than necessary due to the Desert Dawn's anger and rashness at the Desert Tiger's plans? Next time on Shield of the Cosmic Era…_ Chapter 7: Fires of the Desert _. Show your burning spirit to your new allies and the enemies they face Gundam and Captain America!_**

 ** _AXL999: Uh, do you think we should get Yzak out of that box now?_**

 ** _AN: [looks to the sound proof box full of snakes to see Yzak barely standing up and conscious] Nah, he's fine. We can get him out of there later. I mean, it's not like he's really important to the story for a while._**

 ** _AXL999: Good point._**

 ** _AN: Anyways..._**

 ** _Please read and review, and I'll see ya next time, Gundam believers!_**


	7. Fires of the Desert

_**AN: Hey everyone, it's lyokoMARVELanime...**_

 _ **AXL999: And AXL999...**_

 _ **AN: Coming to you all with the next update of Captain America's in the Cosmic Era, and we're revealing what's happened to the mutant population since Cap took another ice nap.**_

 _ **?: Finally! I've been waiting for this forever!**_

 _ **AN: OOOOHHHH No! Not you again! How do you keep getting in here Deadpool?!**_

 _ **Deadpool: I've told you! I bribe your security guard!**_

 _ **AN: MY SECURITY GUARD AGAINST YOU IS STILL OPTIMUS PRIME, YOU MANIAC! And since then, I've added Captain America and Batman to my guard against you! None of them can be bought!**_

 _ **Deadpool: Really? Seriously, who do I keep bribing? Hey, I think you guys are responsible for this, since you all love me so much. Yeah, I'm talking to you all, readers.**_

 ** _AN: Hey! Don't blame them for this! Someone get him out of here before he causes anymore problems than he already has!_**

 ** _AXL999: I've got him! [taps control to summon Hulk Buster]_**

 ** _Deadpool: What're ya gonna do? Smash me?_**

 ** _AXL999: Not even close. I'm just gonna make me a Deadpoolicle [Raises massive freeze ray that can only be used by Hulk Buster and blasts Deadpool]_**

 ** _AN: Well that's better. Now we can get on with the show in peace._**

 ** _Neither myself or AXL999 own anything from any of the Gundam or MARVEL franchises or any other franchise mentioned in this story._**

* * *

 **Chapter 7: Fires of the Desert**

The Gibraltar base was bustling with activity in preparation for the upcoming Z.A.F.T. offensive, _Operation: Spitbreak_ , with dock crews loading ships and submarines with whatever supplies would be needed for both, and repair crews working as fast as they could to make sure that the mobile suits were ready for action, but one pilot in particular could not care less about all of this. Yzak was still fuming over how the Strike and the _Archangel_ had managed to escape unscathed once again, and adding in the fact that the Patriot had gotten in his way when he tried to eliminate the cowardly soldiers that had cost him his shot at the Strike only meant that Yzak was now more infuriated towards the ship and both of its mobile suits than ever before. This anger that Yzak felt towards the Legged Ship, and its two mobile suits in particular, had led him to remove the bandages on his head before his scar had been fully healed, showing that he intended to keep said injury until the day that the Strike and the Patriot were finally taken down, and he fully intended to be the one who did as such.

This led Yzak to start doing some work on the Duel so that it would be ready for anything that was thrown at it in his next confrontation with the Earth Forces mobile suits in a manner that was almost borderline obsession, and it was honestly beginning to worry Dearka a little. "Yzak, this is getting out of hand," the blonde tried to tell his friend. "If you keep working at it like this you're gonna collapse before you even get into the fight."

"Shut it, Dearka," Yzak hollered. "I told you, I plan to make sure that the Strike pays for everything that its done to us and our comrades. I'll punish both him and the Patriot for their crimes against us."

Dearka stared at his friend in disbelief for a minute until he finally asked, "You do remember that the Patriot is piloted by Captain America, right? You'd be crazy to take him on, especially since I know you read the recent reports about what had happened just last night out in Africa. The guy was able to down two BaCUEs with nothing more than his shield and bare hands."

"He was said to have done that," Yzak corrected. "There's no way anyone could take down a mobile suit without special equipment or a mobile armor at bare minimum."

"And yet he did," Dearka argued.

"He got lucky," Yzak countered, though it sounded rather weak in Dearka's opinion. "But that will change soon enough."

Dearka figured he would just let the matter of Captain America drop for now, since it was obvious that Yzak was not going to listen to anything on the subject, so he decided to move on to another matter. "Well what's all this talk about 'punishing' the Strike and the Patriot," Dearka asked. "You're a soldier in a war. These things do happen you know."

"I know that, obviously," Yzak stated. "But you can't tell me you don't want to take them down for what they've done so far, can you? They killed Rusty, Miguel, and its also because of them that Captain Zelman's ship went down with the _Menelaos_! Don't tell me that you don't want to make them pay for that."

Dearka stared at his friend for a minute before he smirked a little and said, "You know, you keep talking like that, and I'm going to start thinking you're that guy from the history books that everyone called the Punisher."

Yzak did not laugh at his friend's attempt at humor, but he did pause in his work and eventually admitted, "You know, I actually did always like what I read about that guy. He never cared what everyone else thought so long as the scum of the world was dealt with for good…you know, maybe I'll consider taking up the moniker for myself."

"Hey come on man, I was just kidding," Dearka quickly said after he stopped laughing. "I mean, sure, the guy did stop criminals, but he made himself judge, jury, and executioner, and made himself one of the most wanted men in history because of his methods. That's not exactly the legacy of someone you should consider taking up, Yzak."

"Too late," Yzak told his friend. "Just you wait, Dearka. Soon the Legged Ship and its mobile suits will be begging for Yzak Joule, the new Punisher to end their suffering."

At that point, Dearka could only stand there and watch as his friend resumed his work once again, honestly wondering just what had gotten into Yzak, and how far the silver haired pilot would go to deal out this punishment onto the Legged Ship and its mobile suits.

* * *

It took a surprisingly short time for the _Archangel_ and their new allies to reach the base camp that the Desert Dawn had set up, and a few simple words from Sahib helped to ease any tensions that the members of the guerillas would have towards the soldiers aboard the massive ship. It did not do anything to ease Cagalli's attitude towards the Earth Forces ship though, but she knew better than to confront anyone on the matter at the moment, so she just kept quiet and let everyone carry on for the moment. That did not mean she was not going to throw small glares and suspicious glances out of the corner of her eyes towards the _Archangel_ commanding officers and Steve while they met with Sahib in the Desert Dawn's makeshift command center right until she finally left to get some fresh air.

"You're forced to _live_ in this sort of place," Mu whistled incredulously as soon as he and his fellow commanders had walked in to the command center.

"This is our frontline base. Our homes are actually in the towns," Sahib clarified while he poured himself a mug of coffee. "That is if they haven't been burned down yet."

"What towns," Murrue asked out of curiosity, thinking that it would help strengthen their relations with the group if they knew a little more about them in such regards.

"Just about every place from as far away as Banadia," Logan answered with a bit of pride in his voice. "The group is made up of volunteers from a bunch of places that have had to deal with the harsh circumstances that having Z.A.F.T. occupying this territory has dealt them, and they're all here for one thing: to bring down guys like Andrew Waltfeld, the Desert Tiger."

Sahib nodded in confirmation of Logan's words before he raised his mug to the _Archangel_ 's officers and asked, "Care for some coffee?"

"Yes, thank you," Halberton nodded in thanks along with Murrue. They did not really have a lot of great tasting drinks on the _Archangel_ , so they were more than open to having something that actually had a more desirable flavor.

"Use any mug you want," Sahib then stated as he walked over to the table in the middle of the room, immediately telling them that their practical supplies were so limited that they had to make do with sharing such things. A small glance over at the table helped the two commanding officers decide that it probably was not worth it, and they soon joined the others at the table as well so they could discuss any plans that they intended to make.

Steve on the other hand had no such worries on the matter and decided to help himself to some anyways. When he noticed the looks that the four Earth Forces officers were giving him, he only said, "What? I fought in World War II, a time when you were lucky to so much as get a cut of the prime rib. This is nothing compared to that. Besides, I have been sleeping for the last hundred or so years."

Logan chuckled at his old friend's reasoning, and then reached under the table to pull out a cooler that clearly belonged to him, if the large, silver "X" on the side was any indication, pulled out a bottle and offered, "I think you'd rather have something a little better than that, Cap. I've got a pretty decent amount of beer in here for both of us."

"I thought I told you to get rid of that," Sahib snapped at Wolverine.

"You said I had to get rid of my cigars, Bub. As far as my beer goes, as long as the kiddies stay out of it, there's no problem," Logan corrected as Steve accepted the offered drink.

"Uh Captain Rogers, are you sure you should be drinking right now, given our current situation," Natarle asked.

Steve just clinked his now open bottle against one that Logan had opened for himself, and replied, "My metabolism heals four times faster than the average person thanks to Erskine's serum, and in addition to that, while it may not be as good or as fast as Logan's, I do have an accelerated healing factor that makes me immune to diseases, infections, and disorders, so I actually can't get drunk. That is assuming that's what you're worried about Lieutenant Badgiruel."

Natarle just nodded in understanding, and then turned her attention back to Sahib along with the others, who was still grumbling a little about Logan's retort in regards to the beer the feral mutant had in his base. After shaking himself out of it, Sahib pulled set a map out on the table and commented, "Unless I'm mistaken, you people are eager to seek passage to Alaska."

"That's right," Halberton confirmed. "Is it possible you know some routes that go unnoticed by Z.A.F.T., considering this is their territory?"

Sahib just glanced between the officers and the map before he sighed, "It may be territory that is under the domination of Z.A.F.T., but look at this land; it's not as if their forces can cover the entire desert. Yet only three days ago, the Victoria Space Port was taken over, and since that time, they've vastly extended their control."

This sudden news about Victoria being taken over so recently took all of the _Archangel_ Officers by surprise, as they knew full well that losing that base to Z.A.F.T. was a serious blow to the Earth Forces' efforts in the war, and Sahib's words on how little difference their allies' resistance made did not help them to feel any better. "The African community in this area has traditionally sided with the PLANTs, while in the lower region, the South Africans resisted as best as they could, but in the end, the Earth Forces abandoned them anyway," Sahib elaborated, sadly. "Every day, the frontlines keep edging back."

"What about Wakanda? What's happened to them," Steve asked.

Logan just gave a dry chuckle before he replied, "The Wakandans have long since made it clear that they don't want any part of this little war, and when the PLANTs and Atlantic Federation tried to force them into it, the current Black Panther and Man-Ape made sure that their stance was crystal clear to them. Ever since, Wakanda's been left alone unless someone was desperate enough to ask them for medical help and resupplying the most essential needs, not that they would ever turn them away if that really was the case."

Steve was relieved to hear that Wakanda was not involved in all of this, especially given how much that great nation already suffered in the past due to its primary resource, but one thing Logan said grabbed his attention. "Since when do the Panther and Ape Tribes work together," Steve asked. "Last I heard, they were trying to kill each other for control of Wakanda."

"Yeah, but that was back when T'Challa was king and M'Baku was the leader of the Ape Tribe," Logan explained. "It took a few different generations, but eventually the two tribes made peace with each other and now lead Wakanda side-by-side. The Panther Tribe is still the main ruling faction, but they now leave a lot of the primary defenses of their kingdom to the Ape Tribe. I should know since I had been asked to help mediate the peace agreements due to my relations with T'Challa."

Steve nodded in understanding, glad to hear that at least one other bit of the previous fighting he had known was now resolved, but that relief was short lived when Sahib huffed, "Not that it really matters anyways. Wakanda may not be involved in all this, but the rest of us have been suffering a great deal."

"Though you guys haven't stopped fighting, have you now," Mu pointed out.

Sahib just threw the mobile armor pilot a look and took a sip from his mug before he stated, "As we see it, Z.A.F.T. and the Earth Forces are no different. They both come here only to gain control and to take away what is ours." Such a sentiment was not one that any of the Earth Forces soldiers liked to hear, but at the same time, they were also not able to deny it either, much to their shame. Sahib then brought everyone back on track by asking, "How well would you say that ship fairs in Earth's atmosphere?"

Knowing that Sahib was referring to the _Archangel_ , and having memorized all of the ship's specifications inside and out, Natarle immediately responded, "It can't fly at high altitudes."

Sahib hummed in response to this and then stated, "If it can't climb over a mountain range, the only alternative would be to try and break through Gibraltar."

"With our battle strength," Mu asked incredulously. "You've gotta be kidding me."

"Maybe, but you do have Captain America with you, so perhaps it would be possible," Sahib pointed out.

"I won't deny that I am rather skilled, but even I'm not that good," Steve protested at once, knowing full well just what Gibraltar was to Z.A.F.T. "Take away the fact that I just started piloting a mobile suit under gravity just last night, and you'd still have a problem with that little statement. One soldier may be able to make a lot of difference in a battle, but that doesn't mean he can do it all alone. Even I am only as good as my team, and right now, my team really only consists of Commander La Flaga and Ensign Yamato, while the rest of the _Archangel_ 's forces are part of the ship's crew or not fully trained soldiers. Even if we were to add Logan to our fighting strength, we wouldn't be able to make it through."

Sahib let that sit for a minute as he thought over whatever other options that these unexpected allies would have, until he waved his mug over the map again and suggested, "Or you might try to get past to the Red Sea, through the Indian Ocean, and over to the Pacific Ocean."

"The Pacific Ocean," Murrue exclaimed in surprise. It was a more preferable idea as opposed to trying to break through one of Z.A.F.T.'s strongest Earth bases, but there was still a small problem with undertaking such a journey on the _Archangel_.

"We couldn't possibly cover that distance without stopping to resupply along the way," Natarle pointed out, voicing the flaw in undertaking such a journey.

"I understand the Oceana Union is completely within Z.A.F.T. territory, right," Mu clarified. "What about the Equatorial Union? Is it still neutral?"

"Hey, aren't you jumping too far ahead? You think you're already there," Sahib interrupted before the _Archangel_ Officers could get any further in their planning for said journey. When said officers looked to him in confusion, Sahib pointed to the map again and said, "Take a look. The _Lesseps_ is also in Banadia."

"So that's what you meant when you said 'try to get past'," Steve nodded in understanding. "No matter which way we go, we're going to have to try and get past a major point of Z.A.F.T. Forces. The only difference is whether its an entire base or a Z.A.F.T. ship that's commanded by one of their best commanders."

"Yep, and Banadia is where the Desert Tiger has made his den," Logan confirmed. "To be honest, I think you'd be better off trying to get through him. I've taken on Waltfeld's guys in the past before I joined up with Sahib and these other guys, and while they may be tough and a bit of a more reasonable fighting force in comparison to some of the other Z.A.F.T. units I've fought against, they aren't as close to being nearly indestructible like Gibraltar is, at least against battle strength like what you've all described. Of course, that's just my opinion."

Murrue gazed down at the map, weighing both options along with the opinions that had been voiced on the two routes, and by the end of it all, she had to agree that Logan was right in thinking that they would be better off trying to get past the _Lesseps_ than they would in trying to break through Gibraltar. That did not mean she liked it though, as it just meant that they were effectively trading the Le Creuset Team for another ace Z.A.F.T. force. Still, there was nothing to be done about it, so she just sighed and said, "Then I guess we'll have to do what we can to break through the _Lesseps_. Can we count on your cooperation in that regard, Sahib?"

"Of course," Sahib confirmed at once. "We've been fighting the Tiger for so long, that we'd more than welcome any chance to finally end the fight against him at last."

Murrue nodded in thanks to Sahib for this, and after seeing Halberton and the other officers approve of Murrue's decision, Steve decided that he had finally waited long enough for the answers that his old friend had promised him. "So Logan, mind telling me what happened to the mutant race now," the super soldier asked.

Everyone's eyes had immediately fallen to the former X-Man when Steve had asked that question, and in all honesty, Logan was not sure if he should have been expecting Steve to have asked that so soon after the more important business was concluded, or if he was even all that ready to tell the story yet. He did not want to leave Steve in the dark on such an important matter though, so in the end, Logan just sighed and started out by saying, "Like I had said earlier, in a way, Coordinators are responsible for the near end of the mutant race. After things started going south because of the birth of Coordinators, it was believed that a lot of the prejudice against mutants would finally be pulled off of us."

"That seems a little selfish to think like that," Natarle reprimanded.

"You think we didn't know that," Logan asked. "We're not proud of thinking like that, but when you've been hated, hunted, and forced to endure as much as even the most average of mutants has, you can't help but feel a little better when something comes along to take some of that hatred off of you. We ended up paying an unexpected price for that thinking though when it suddenly became clear that the number of activating x-genes suddenly started to go down. After doing a little digging, an old friend of mine who had been helping me to keep my school running found out that something in the genetic alterations involved with giving birth to Coordinators had caused the x-gene to be suppressed, nearly to the point that it was almost like it was never even there to begin with. In essence, it's a lot like that mutant 'cure' from years ago, only it happens right from birth, and as a result, the ideas of a mutant Coordinator ended up being a pipe dream. I figured it would pass in time, but eventually, as the number of Coordinators went up, the number of mutants went down for one reason or another, until it reached the point that there were only a handful of us left as so much as a community."

"So that's why you said that it's the Coordinators' fault that mutants are riding on the edge of extinction," Halberton mused aloud. "It gave anyone who carried an x-gene the idea that they could keep their child from dealing with the stuff that mutants go through."

"Yeah," Logan nodded. "To be honest, I think that Coordinators have gotten off easy in comparison to mutants, and a lot of other people shared that sentiment, because once word got out that the Coordinator birth process prevented the x-gene from ever becoming active, a lot of mutant parents immediately went to a doctor so that they could keep their kid from suffering like they had. I really thought that things were getting better for us just because all the hate was being transferred to someone else, and karma decided to be a bitch to me and fuck up the entire mutant race."

"Logan, language," Steve lightly reprimanded.

Everyone stared at the super soldier for a minute until Mu finally asked, "Did you seriously just say that?"

"Sorry, it just slipped out," Steve admitted sheepishly. That gave everyone a little something to laugh about for a minute, but it did nothing to hide the sorrow they all felt for Logan. It was no secret that mutants had to endure the worst of humanity's prejudice throughout all of history, so to hear that something like that had happened to them was something that only served to sadden everyone in the room while feeling sorry for Logan. Steve especially could not help but feel sorry for his old friend, as he knew that even among mutants, Logan had suffered far more than anyone should ever have had to, and now the feral mutant had to add the loss of the closest thing he has had to a family in a long time to the list of things he had to suffer from. Logan may be the best at what he does, but one would often forget that even those who are considered the best at something can still suffer greatly.

* * *

It was not until night had fallen upon the desert once again that everyone had felt that things had been sorted out well enough for them to all calm down and have something to eat for dinner, though some people did not have food on their minds at the moment. Sahib and the officers of the _Archangel_ were all just sitting around a camp fire reflecting on their respective current situations along with Logan's story, and considering what the last X-Man had told them, it was a little hard to not think about it. How do you really keep yourself from thinking about how one of your friends' entire race was wiped out? It may not have happened in an instant or through any sort of violent attack, but both of those facts really just made it all the more worse, and ended up bringing sorrowful looks onto each of their faces. Aside from those five though, the only ones not actively eating at the moment were Tolle, Kuzzey, and Miriallia, mostly because they could not help but think about how crazy their lives just seemed to keep getting, but the rest of that was out of concern for Sai and Flay.

It was really more along the lines of concern for Sai than it was for Flay, as the young man had been trying to talk with Flay for some time now, but the redhead just kept on brushing the poor boy off despite the fact that he was trying to make sure she was alright. They all knew that Sai and Flay's parents had made some sort of arrangement for the two to get married someday, but considering what had happened to the latter's father, who was her only living parent at the time, it was pretty clear that said arrangement was no longer valid, at least to everyone other than Sai, as he actually did care a great deal for the girl in question. Now do not misunderstand, Sai was not trying to save any chances he had of a romantic relationship with Flay, he was just trying to be a good friend to the girl, but Flay was making that difficult with her constant insistence of seeming like she wanted nothing to do with Sai.

This was something that Cagalli found herself witnessing firsthand as she wandered around outside the _Archangel_ , hoping she would run into Kira so she could officially learn the Strike pilot's name at long last, and Flay happened to storm past her as she attempted to get away from Sai, despite his wanting to talk with her. Though the blonde was not entirely sure why Flay had given her such a nasty look, it quickly became clear that she should probably leave the area when the Kira walked out of the _Archangel_ 's airlock and Flay grabbed onto his arm after ducking behind him, leading to a very tense silence between the three. Still, she could do nothing to keep from picking up on what was being said as she started to walk away, which caused her to pause for reasons that she could not quite understand.

"What," Kira asked Sai in clear confusion for the reason why Sai was now looking at him strangely.

Sai just continued to stare for a few more minutes until he just glanced to the side for a minute and stated, "I need to talk to Flay. It's not your business, Kira."

In all honesty, Kira would have been more than happy to step aside and let the two talk things out, but he would not deny that there was something about the way Sai had spoken to him that he did not like. Sadly, Kira found any decision about whether or not he should leave Flay and Sai alone to sort things out being ripped from his grasp when Flay suddenly said, "This has everything to do with him! I spent…I spent last night all alone with Kira, get it?!"

At that point, Sai had completely frozen in shock, having honestly not expected to hear that, while the blonde observer of the conversation ducked behind the rocks she was listening from with a brilliant blush on her face. Sai looked to Kira hoping that his friend would say something to dispute what Flay had just announced, but when Kira did not meet his eyes, Sai immediately knew that it was true. "Explain this to me, Flay," Sai pleaded, clenching his fists in an attempt to quell any anger, hate, or betrayal that he was beginning to feel towards the two.

"Why should I explain myself to you," Flay demanded. "It has nothing to do with you Sai."

Sai was about to argue otherwise on the point when Kira finally said, "Just forget it, Sai."

"…What's that," Sai softly asked, though one could hear that the question was bordering on the edge of being more of a demand than a question.

Kira then found himself unable to keep from directing a small glare towards his friend as he heatedly said, "Anyone can see that you're chasing after someone who has absolutely no desire to be with you."

"Who do you think you are," Sai growled, this time in a full demanding tone. When Kira tried to settle things calmly by politely asking Sai to stop and then walking away, Sai's anger just grew and caused him to charge at his friend in an attempt to attack him. Kira was able to sense Sai's attack coming, and was more than ready to react out of defense in response to it, but what none of them noticed was the red, white, and blue shield that was spinning through the air towards them until it hit the ground right between the two boys, drawing everyone's attention to the one who had thrown it.

"Now that is enough," Steve shouted once he saw that he had everyone's attention and marched forward. "Sai, I understand that you're upset, but that's no reason to attack someone out of anger like that, especially someone who's both a friend and a comrade. That goes for you as well, Kira. I know that you were trying to avoid a fight, but there were better ways for you to have tried to do so without further antagonizing him. Right now, we need to stand together more than ever, especially with the situation we're all in right now, and that means we can't afford to be at each other's throats over the simplest of things. You may not have had the proper training, and you also may have been just average students before all this, but that changed the minute you officially enlisted. You're soldiers now, and as such, you need to realize when the time and place for this sort of thing is while also knowing that in this situation, you shouldn't be trying to get at each other's throats like bitter enemies. If you want to hash it out though, I'll be more than happy to put you both through the ropes the way we did back in my day."

Both boys hung their heads in shame, knowing that Steve was right. The two of them were supposed to be friends, and they were about to start fighting each other just because of hurt feelings and a girl that they both cared about. Granted that type of thing is actually to be expected because they were both guys, and as such they would tend to do stupid things because of a girl, but this was too much, especially given they were supposed to be both friends and comrades in an army. That did not mean that they were the only ones that would be facing Steve's wrath, as the super soldier was quick to turn his anger on the redhead that had practically instigated this whole thing. "As for you, young lady," Steve practically snarled. "I don't care how you deal with whatever grief you're feeling because of your recent loss, but when it starts affecting not only this team but also the friends around you, then we have a problem. Sai's intentions may come from his feelings for you, but they are still those of a concerned friend who's just trying to help. The same goes for Kira as well, but that doesn't mean you should take advantage of his kindness just for your own benefit. That is unless you want to turn close friends into bitter enemies and lose any friendships you already have with everyone else."

Flay was completely stunned. Even though he did not actually say the words, the girl could tell that Captain America had just stated that he knew that she was using Kira's feelings for her to fulfill her desires for revenge against the Coordinators, including Kira himself, which admittedly, would have been further assisted if Kira had managed to continue to fight with Sai. She had no intentions of apologizing for starting all this of course, but at the moment she was still trying to figure out how Steve knew when she was so certain no one suspected a thing. What she did not know was that she was not the only one who was surprised by Steve's words.

Even though she was not an active part of the conversation, Cagalli was completely frozen at what Steve had just said as well. Given all that she had heard about him, the blonde would never have thought that Captain America could have been so angry towards someone. Add in the fact that she had just heard that one of those three had recently lost someone very close to them, and Cagalli found her question as to what the hell had happened to Kira and the _Archangel_ since she had last seen the former on Heliopolis only gained more of a desire to receive a full answer, because clearly these people had been through a lot more than she had originally suspected.

Any further thoughts on the matter were quickly dropped when all five of them heard someone blowing a whistle in alarm and the members of Desert Dawn suddenly seemed to start scrambling for their vehicles and equipment. Knowing that something serious must have happened, Cagalli quickly moved to do the same and join the guerillas, while Logan rode up to where Steve was on a motorcycle. "Cap, we've got trouble," Logan shouted to his old friend.

"What's going on," Steve demanded.

"There's a fire coming from the direction of Tassil, and I've got a hunch that there's no way in hell that it's for any reason other than an attack," Logan growled. "If you're coming with, there's another bike just over there that you can borrow."

Steve looked at his friend for a moment in thought. He had a feeling that Murrue would probably want him and Kira to stay with the ship and standby on their mobile suits just in case, but he knew that the Patriot was probably not ready for desert combat yet, so he was honestly tempted to join Logan in this charge to the town. Even so, Steve was still part of the _Archangel_ 's crew and not the Desert Dawn, so while he did technically outrank everyone on the ship aside from Halberton, Steve still felt obligated to stick with his current team and what they did for the moment, and that was why he ended up relying, "Sorry Logan, but I'm afraid that I can't come with you on this one."

Logan just shrugged in response and gunned the engine of his bike as he stated, "I guess I should've figured, but there was no harm in at least asking."

Once Logan had roared off on his bike after the rest of Desert Dawn, Steve quickly picked up on Murrue shouting for everyone of her crew to return to the ship and prepare for defensive action. He only paused to summon his shield back to his arm before he turned to the three younger crewmembers and half-shouted, "Argyle, Yamato, Allster, I know you received your orders, so get moving!"

Kira and Sai both immediately jumped into the ship the minute that Steve had snapped them back to attention, but Flay was a bit more hesitant to move before she finally joined them in doing so, mostly due to the fact that she was still a bit put off by Steve knowing what she was planning for her revenge. As he moved to follow the three, Steve was already running through the various scenarios of what would happen as a result of all these actions in his head, and none of them ended well.

* * *

Logan had pulled up to the outskirts of Tassil, or what was left of Tassil, just as Mu was landing the Sky Grasper he had flown over in, with Natarle pulling up in a jeep that was carrying both a doctor and medical supplies from the _Archangel_ mere minutes later. The last surviving X-Man was happy to see that so many people from the town had apparently survived, but looking at the destruction that had befallen their home only served to remind him of the darker times that he had face both personally and as a member of the X-Men, some memories in particular that he did not enjoy thinking about at all. Still, when he heard Sahib calling out in joy over seeing that his son was alive, Logan could not help but smile at the sight of a good man being able to still have a family member despite all that had happened to his home. That smile was quickly replaced with a look of surprise when he heard one very important piece of news.

When Sahib had asked how many of his people were killed, the shaman who led the town reported that not a single life had been lost. More surprising, they were also told that the Desert Tiger's forces had issued a warning to the people ahead of time saying that they were going to set fire to the town and that the people should run away, and then the Z.A.F.T. soldiers set everything ablaze from food, to ammunition, to everything else that would be essential for the people to be able to just survive out in the desert, never mind live. In all honesty, this was not something that Logan would ever have expected from Waltfeld, having dealt with forces under the Desert Tiger's command many times in the past, even before he had joined Sahib's group. Of course, Logan had never actually met the man behind the reputation, but from all that he had seen and heard from the people who lived here, this did not seem typical of Waltfeld at all. The only thing that made sense about all this would be that this was some form of revenge for what the Desert Dawn had done to the Z.A.F.T. forces the previous night, but while that did make sense, Logan honestly felt that it was something more befitting of a typical street thug than a military commander.

Such thinking was obviously not entirely shared, because Mu obviously believed that Waltfeld had attacked the town in the way he did for revenge as well, but when he tried to tell the people of Tassil this as a way of uplifting their spirits, the Hawk of Endymion only ended up making things worse by letting his carefree attitude lead him to speak before really thinking, which in the end, only ended up with everyone in Tassil getting mad at him, along with Natarle. When Sahib eventually stepped aside to talk with his people, Logan thought it would be best to listen in to what the leader of Desert Dawn was discussing with his men and moved over to the side a little to listen in, leaving the Earth Forces ace to fend for himself against the angered people and Cagalli.

"It hasn't been that long since they withdrew from the area. We can still catch up to them," one of the Desert Dawn guerillas told their leader, much to Sahib's growing concern.

"They'll be low on ammunition, so now would be the perfect opportunity to attack them," another man who was already preparing a rifle added in agreement with what his comrade was suggesting.

"We will strike back at Z.A.F.T.," a man wearing a bandana declared. "We can't just sit around here after being treated like this!"

"Don't be ridiculous," Sahib shouted, having heard enough of the foolishness that was being suggested. "If you're wondering what to do with your time, take care of the injured. Stay here to protect your wives and children. That is most important of all."

"And how is that supposed to help our cause," the first man that had spoken up demanded before jabbing a finger at what was once his home. "Look! The Tassil we once knew is gone! Our homes, food, and everything have been burned to the ground! Are we supposed to sit back and weep with our wives and little ones?!"

Everyone was silent at this until the bandana wearing man spoke up again saying, "You can't be saying that we should reconcile ourselves to being the Tiger's lapdogs. Is that the case?"

"Not even close, Bub," Logan interrupted, having finally heard enough to know where this was going. "He's saying that instead of charging after him in blind anger, you should just be glad that you have any wives and little ones, or really any loved ones at all to weep with. Trust me, you think you've all got it bad? Let me tell you all something: mutants have had it far worse than this. I've lost count of how many kids got kicked out onto the streets by their parents and loved ones just because they found out they were mutants, and after all the schools like Xavier's shut down, that number just increased, even though mutants were on the decline. I get where you guys are coming from; I've been there myself more times than I care to remember, but unlike me, you guys can't walk away from anything that gets thrown your way with nothing more than a slight limp at worst, and if you all go down this path, it will only lead you to even more trouble and tragedy than you've already been dealt."

Logan's words seemed to calm most of the guerillas for a brief time, as he definitely gave them something to think about with that little speech, but it was all for not when their anger won out in the end, and the infuriated rebels raced off after the Desert Tiger anyway. Logan just watched them go as Sahib went to make sure that something was done to ensure as many of his men stayed alive as possible, with Cagalli, Ahmed, and the archer known as Kisaka joining him shortly after, and once they were all out of sight, the mutant looked to Natarle and Mu who had just seen the Desert Dawn race off as well and said, "You'd better call Steve and that other kid and tell them to get over there quickly. Otherwise, they'll all end up dead before noon."

"Wait, you mean you're not going to go and help," Mu asked, truly surprised that Wolverine was not charging off to join this fight. "I thought that taking such actions was something you did all the time?"

"Back in the day, in their place, I probably would have, but that's the old me, and I'm a lot older than most of their grandfathers or even great grandfathers, so I know when you should or shouldn't pull your punches," Logan shrugged in a manner that seemed to indicate he did not care, but from his stance, both Earth Forces soldiers could tell that Logan was definitely feeling a great deal of worry for those people. "I already tried to warn them about what would happen if they did this, and they didn't listen, so whatever happens from here is their fault. Some people just have to learn these kind of lessons the hard way."

The two watched Logan walk back over to the survivors from Tassil in silence at that point, and as they did, they did not see the man that history had depicted Wolverine to be, but rather someone who had been tested by all the worst things that the world had to offer, and who clearly wished that such things like this would not happen, and while any physical ones had long since been healed, it was also clear that all other scars had done much more than leave their mark on the legendary Wolverine. Natarle just filed such thoughts away for later and decided to do what she could to help with assisting the refugees while Mu contacted the _Archangel_ about the recent development, both hoping that Kira and Captain America would be able to reach the rebel fighters before it was too late.

* * *

Several miles away from Tassil, Waltfeld and his forces were casually making their way back to the _Lesseps_ like they did not have a care in the world, though in the case of the Desert Tiger, that would probably be an accurate assumption. After burning down Tassil, Waltfeld felt it was best to leave at once in case there were any civilian casualties and the husbands wanted to take revenge on them. While they did leave the town quickly enough to make sure they were already well out of sight by the time Desert Dawn had arrived, they had since slowed down a great deal to the point that the BaCUEs were moving at walking speed, much to the slight irritation and confusion of some of Waltfeld's men.

"Can't we go a little faster than this," DaCosta asked once he finally got fed up enough with how slowly they were going.

"You're eager to get back quickly, is that it," Waltfeld questioned in response to his right-hand man's query.

DaCosta ignored his commander's question and instead felt that he should point out what he thought should be blatantly obvious about the problem with their slow speed. "At the speed we're going, they'll catch up to us!"

Waltfeld simply shrugged and leaned back as he remarked, "Then we're meant to meet. It's fate." DaCosta was a bit thrown off by that response until Waltfeld went on to add, "Whenever people are put to the test I often hear them boast 'I'd rather die', but do you think they honestly mean it?"

DaCosta stared at his commander in response, not only because it was not something he was not expecting to hear, but also because he did not have an answer to his commander's question. After thinking for a minute, he figured that Waltfeld was counting on the fact that the guerillas' artillery trucks were no match against the BaCUEs, so he simply just directed his attention forward again and focused on his driving. His focus from this task was diverted once again when one of the BaCUE pilots suddenly reported, _"Commander, there are vehicles approaching us from behind. Six…no, eight vehicles. They appear to be those of the resistance fighters!"_

When he heard that report, Waltfeld could not help but smirk in anticipation as he said, "Maybe those people would rather die after all." His smirk then grew a little as he added, "And maybe if we're lucky, we'll get a more up close look at the two legends that we faced the other night as well."

A minute later, an explosion near the jeep he and Waltfeld were in threw DaCosta's steering off, and a quick glance to the source showed him and his allies that the Desert Dawn was racing over the dunes towards them, firing missiles at them as they went. Knowing they had no other choice, Waltfeld immediately ordered his men to engage the attacking guerillas at once. It took a little bit of time to respond to Waltfeld's orders, mostly due to the fact that the BaCUEs were making sure that their commander made it to a safe distance, and it allowed the guerillas to cause a BaCUE to be knocked off its feet for a minute, but once Waltfeld and DaCosta were clear, the dog-like mobile suits were quick to start fighting the rebels off with ease.

Cagalli, Sahib, and many of the others could only look on in horror as many of their friends and allies were quickly knocked into the air by the BaCUEs' front legs, or flattened beneath the machines after they had jumped into the air and flattened them after activating their tank modes. Eventually, what was once a very large number of guerillas was reduced to a nearly a handful, and they were all quick to think back on Logan's warning and how they did not heed it when they had the chance. Cagalli and Ahmed did not let the rising number of casualties deter them though, and quickly raced up underneath one of the BaCUEs so that they could fire on it from bellow. This proved to be a fatal mistake, as the BaCUE raised its leg to take a swing at them next. Kisaka was quick to spot this action though, and immediately grabbed Cagalli so that they could jump clear before the attack struck the vehicle, but sadly, Ahmed did not notice what the archer had until it was too late.

Cagalli watched in horror as her friend was flung through the air while their jeep crashed into the sand, and she knew that there was a likely chance that Ahmed did not survive, but that did not mean she wanted to believe that he was dead, so she quickly started to rise so she could run over to where he had landed. She did not get far though, as Kisaka ended up pulling her back down onto the sand so that they could avoid being hit by any stray shots from either side, and they were thus unable to do anything when Sahib suddenly fell into the path of a BaCUE that was clearly intent on running his jeep over. Sahib was determined to go down fighting if he had to, and quickly prepared to fire a rocket at the attacking machine, but before he could, a green beam suddenly flashed across the sky and forced the BaCUE to back off, only to suddenly be struck down by a large, red, white, and blue blur. Everyone was quick to look to where the two attacks had come from, and they were immediately greeted with the sight of two familiar mobile suits.

"It's the Strike and the Patriot," Cagalli exclaimed in surprise as the two machines closed in on the battlefield, with the Patriot immediately engaging in close combat using its fists and shield while Kira continued to fire his beam rifle on the enemy, only for his shots to fall short of their marks.

"Kira, is there a problem," Steve called out as he used the Patriot's shield to block a missile attack and then bash a BaCUE onto its side.

"No, there shouldn't be. Those shots should've hit," Kira replied in confusion as he retracted his targeting scope. He then snapped his fingers and muttered, "Right, the heat convection must be causing it."

"Kira," Steve questioned in wonder of what the young man was thinking at the moment while he made sure to keep his machine a few steps ahead of the various enemy mobile suits.

"I'll be with you in a minute, Cap," Kira called out as he had the Strike run across the sand while he typed on the Strike's computer keyboard. "I just need to make a few adjustments."

Captain America just shrugged in response to Kira's words, and brought the rest of his focus onto the battle around them, with his first action being his usual go-to move of a shield-throw. The large flying replica of Steve's iconic tool quickly slashed through one BaCUE's neck, and caused the machine to fall to the ground, inoperable, until it landed on the sand. Thinking that the Patriot would be vulnerable without its shield, the other machines were quick to charge at the apparently unarmed mobile suit, but they quickly learned that was not a wise course of action, as the Patriot raised both arms in defense before performing a series of acrobatic moves and attacks to either avoid being hit by enemy fire or strike back to disable the machines for a short time. It turned out that short time was exactly what Kira needed to finish his work and then show off the fruits of his quick labor by blasting off the missile launcher on a BaCUE's back in one, precise shot.

"Nice timing, Kira," Steve congratulated.

"Thanks, but I wish I could say the same for our arrival," Kira admitted.

"Now's not the time to worry about that, son," the super soldier told his young friend. "Right now, focus on the matter at hand and leave everything else for later."

"Roger that," Kira nodded in acceptance, and the two then turned their attention back to the battle and charged in together.

* * *

Waltfeld smirked in excitement that he had only felt just the other night when he saw that the two Earth Forces mobile suits had arrived to save the day like the hero that was piloting one of them, and that excitement was quickly growing along with his intrigue when he noticed how quickly the Strike's beam rifle attacks had improved. "Rather impressive," Waltfeld mused aloud.

"Did those guys really come to rescue them," DaCosta asked in honestly shock.

Waltfeld paid no mind to such disbelief, as he felt that the answer to such a question was obvious, and instead just said, "The Strike's equipped with different hardware than the last time, and check out that beam targeting. Has he instantly included the heat convection within the parameters?"

"Hard to say," DaCosta shrugged, deciding to indulge his commander in his thought process. "And then there's the Patriot."

"Indeed," Waltfeld nodded as he looked to where the stars and stripes mobile suit was evading and striking back with a number of incredible moves and attacks that many had thought were not possible to pull off in a mobile suit at all, let alone while it was under gravity. One of the greatest examples was when it back flipped through the air to avoid an attack, and then rolled across the sand to retrieve its shield, which it immediately used to block a missile barrage from one of the remaining five BaCUEs. This act of defense allowed the Patriot the chance to draw a beam saber with its free hand and then charge in to try and slice the attacking mobile suit in half.

"The pilot is able to make the machine move like a human with years of combat training," Waltfeld commented as he continued watching the red, white, and blue suit. "That in and of itself is something that not even the best pilots in Z.A.F.T. could ever dream of pulling off. That's beyond impressive on its own, even if you weren't to account for the fact that its pilot was able to take down a pair of BaCUEs without a mobile suit just the other night." The two commanders of Z.A.F.T.'s African forces then noticed that the BaCUE that had been disabled a moment ago was now back on its feet, and that gave Waltfeld exactly what he needed. "Kirkwood, let me get in and pilot that BaCUE," Waltfeld told the pilot over his radio.

"Commander," DaCosta tried to warn his commanding officer, but Waltfeld had no intention of listening.

"Some things you can't be sure of until exchanging fire with one another," Waltfeld told his friend, and he then made his way across the battlefield to the BaCUE that he had requested to pilot so that he could deter just how good his newest opponents were firsthand.

* * *

In all honesty, things could likely have been going worse for Kira and Steve, but they could also be going better, considering that they had yet to have eliminated the remaining five machines. This was mostly due to the fact that their actions would likely lead to harming the Desert Dawn members that were still alive and in one piece if they were not careful, but part of it was also because they were still getting used to fighting in mobile suit battles under gravity. This was a bit easier for Steve, seeing as he was more used to fighting in an environment with gravity, but since Kira was still a beginner in terms of combat skills, it was turning out to be a little harder for him.

Steve was about to move and assist the young Coordinator when he was suddenly hit on the side by a pair of missile blasts that had come from an unexpected source. "The third machine is still up and running," Kira exclaimed in shock.

"Don't worry, I handle it and two of the others. You take care of the remaining three," Steve reassured Kira, and he quickly charged to re-engage the recently returned unit. A minute after Steve moved to engage the recently returned BaCUE and the two closest to it, the three machines quickly moved into a formation and started tearing into the Patriot with a new gusto. Given the sudden change in tactics, it did not take long for Steve to realize the pilot of the previous disabled machine had switched out with his commander, and that meant that Steve was going to need to step up his game.

Holstering his beam saber, Steve immediately moved to engage with only his shield, and once he was close enough, Steve threw said shield at one of the three BaCUEs that were now charging at him. The BaCUE swerved to the side in order to avoid the attack, but that turned out to be a bad move, as the shield ended up striking its side in a way that allowed it to rebound into the BaCUE next to it. The Patriot immediately caught the shield as it was falling to the sand after it had hit the second target, and then surprised his opponents by holstering its shield onto its back and drawing both of its beam sabers. The Patriot then rocketed forward with nearly the full power of its thrusters and fired his Vulcan guns as he approached, disorienting the BaCUEs long enough for him to unleash a pair of powerful swings with his swords, and then finally toss the one in his right hand into the eye of a BaCUE, causing it to stumble over its feet until it completely crashed. Another swing of his remaining beam saber allowed Steve to whip up a quick dust cloud from the sand, giving him the chance to redraw his shield just in time to toss it through a BaCUE that had jumped over the cloud in the hopes of crushing the Patriot beneath it.

When the last machine charged him again, Steve swung the Patriots beam saber through one of its legs, and then knocked it away with his shield, quickly prompting the pilot to turn the machine around and beat a hasty retreat. Seeing that his opponents were now leaving the battlefield, Captain America prepared to turn his attention to assisting Kira, but he quickly saw that Kira did not need any help at all, as he was once again fighting on a new intensity that Steve had only witnessed from Kira two times now. Not long after, any of the remaining opponents Kira had been fighting were retreating as well, leaving Steve and Kira a chance to finally breathe easy and find out who among the Desert Dawn was left alive.

* * *

Waltfeld could not believe how quickly he was beaten, and not only that, but it was not in a way he had been expecting at all. In all honesty, his thinking that the Patriot would only fight using its shield the entire time was properly a series mistake on his part, but given Captain America's reputation, Waltfeld did not think anyone would blame him for thinking that way, given how much a part of Cap's fighting style the shield was. Still, even with the unexpected tactics that had been utilized, the other thing that had surprised him was the Strike's skill. Even though he was fighting against the legendary super soldier, Waltfeld did make sure to pay close attention to how the weird and wonderful Strike pilot was faring, and he was honestly not expecting the Strike to actually survive the onslaught that was being dealt to him. With so many unexpected things happening around him, Waltfeld found that he had no choice but to order a full retreat of his remaining forces, but that did not mean that he was disappointed in the results.

"Now those are my kind of guys. It's been a while since I had this much fun," Waltfeld smiled to himself, already eagerly awaiting the next time he faced off with the two pilots. He then paused for a minute and wondered, "I wonder where Wolverine was this time though. It doesn't seem like him to miss out on a fight."

He figured that it did not really matter that much, and simply shrugged it off so that he could focus on making sure the BaCUE he was piloting made it back to the _Lesseps_ in its current state.

* * *

Kira and Steve made sure to help Sahib and the others take a full account of their dead before Steve decided to address the surviving members on their rash and stupid actions that had led to this tragedy. Before he could say a word though, Kira ended up beating him to it. "You trying to get yourselves killed," Kira practically demanded of the rebels. "In a place like this, there's absolutely no reason for any of you…"

"That's the last straw," Cagalli snapped, having felt that she had dealt with enough crap from the Earth Forces of the _Archangel_. "My friend gave his life in this battle, you heartless moron. They fought desperately…We're all fighting desperately all so that we can protect the things and people that are so important to us!"

Kira was about to deliver a hard slap to the blonde out of anger at her stubbornness and idiocy, when Steve placed a hand on his shoulder that seemed to calm him down a little. Seeing that Kira was not going to do anything that he might later regret, Steve turned a hard look on both Cagalli and the people she was working with and said, "The reason you're fighting for is not a bad one, but there's no point in trying to protect anything when the best weapon you have is your feelings. If you go into a fight like that, you're going to suffer more losses than you'll gain victories every time. If you had listened to Logan, you would've realized that's exactly what he was trying to warn you about."

Cagalli and the others stared at Steve in shock for a minute, unable to argue his words due to how true they were, but when he mentioned Logan, Cagalli's anger came back a little as she retorted, "Don't bring that bastard into this! He just stayed on the sidelines while leaving us to fend for ourselves, even though he knew full well that he could've helped save some of the people we lost!"

This time, Cagalli did get slapped, but it was a very angry Steve who had slapped her, and he immediately snarled, "Don't you dare call Logan a coward! I've fought with him since before your oldest living relatives were even born, and I've seen him face terrors that would have broken any other man. The reason he didn't join you here was because he knew full well where this would lead, and he knew from firsthand experience, since he had gone down such a road of vengeance himself many times in the past. It changed him, cost him a great deal, and even led him to lose people very dear to him, and losses like that can lead men like Logan to never be the same again. Despite that, he still kept on going, making sure to always keep going for a better cause, because there were people that he felt that needed him. Even now, that's why he's still fighting. Even though he just met you all, he's fighting to make sure that as many of you make it without suffering too greatly, but when you do something like this, you're just spitting on his efforts."

Cagalli and the men who had made the suggestion to take this action looked at Steve in wide-eyed shock until they finally ended up hanging their heads in shame for their actions. None of them ever really realized just what sort of life Logan had led, even now, despite knowing who he really was, they still had no real idea just what he had really experienced in his long, _long_ life, and now that they were really able to hear what Logan was trying to keep them from doing, they could not help but feel ashamed for just brushing him off. That shame remained strong over them as they all traveled back to the camp so that they could begin making plans for the foreseeable future.

* * *

 ** _AN: So that was nuts. I hope you all got those little references to other parts of the MARVEL Universe I threw in here, along with catching that little reference to something from Avengers: Age of Ultron, because I just had to throw those in. Also, Yzak's sudden decision to start calling himself the Punisher, that's gonna lead into a whole thing later on down the line, in answer to the question your no doubt are now wondering after reading that._**

 ** _Now, Logan's explanation on what happened to the mutants: the simplest way to summarize it is that anyone born a Coordinator can have the x-gene, but it is now heavily suppressed. It does have a chance of becoming active again, but at the moment, it does not have any chance of becoming active in any Coordinators. There may be other mutants out there somewhere, but since Coordinators who have the x-gene can't become a mutant, there's a very little chance of that. I know it may seem a little harsh for mutant parents to make their children into Coordinators just so that the kids can't become mutants, but really, any parent would want what they believe is best for their child, and that their child would not suffer any of the hardships that they had._**

 ** _Also, that whole Steve stopping Kira and Sai from fighting, the reasons are clear, and it also served as another chance for Steve to talk some sense into Flay, for what little good it seems to be doing. And speaking of girls that Steve is getting on the case of, I had him get on Cagalli's case because I thought that having him tell her and the Desert Dawn off for their stupid decision would drive the point home a little more. You'd think that Logan being against such actions would be enough, but then that would mean that the battle never happened. Somethings just have to be learned the hard way no matter what is said by whom._**

 ** _Well, I think that covers everything._**

 ** _AXL999: You're not gonna remind everyone about the pairing dilemma?_**

 ** _AN: Oh right. I've gotten a couple of people telling us what they think already, but that's pretty much where it stops. I just want you all to know that I'm still interested in hearing what you all think about who you think Captain America should be paired up with between Murrue and Natarle. I'm honestly leaning towards Murrue a bit myself..._**

 ** _AXL999: I like the idea of Natarle, actually._**

 ** _AN: So please tell us which one you guys think would make more sense and work better, and please refrain from suggesting we do a harem. This is Captain America we're talking about here, not Naruto, or whatever other anime character people like to write a harem for, so don't think he should be paired up with every single girl in a series at once. Cap doesn't do that kind of thing._**

 ** _Okay, now I think that we've covered everything, now we can move Onto the Preview!..._**

 ** _A supply run to Banadia, leads Kira, Steve, Cagalli, and Logan into a meeting with Andrew Waltfeld, and all four of them are completely stunned by what they discover after meeting him. Just what sort of things will Kira discover about this war, and what will result from the Z.A.F.T. commander meeting the Avenger captain? Later, after planning for the last push to escape the Z.A.F.T. controlled desert, Steve decides its high time that he started forming the special team he had suggested to Halberton shortly after meeting, and his choice of members surprises nearly everyone. Next time on Shield of the Cosmic Era…_** **Chapter 8: Calm Before the Storm** ** _. Begin your preparations for the coming storms Gundam and Captain America!_**

 ** _Please read and review, and I'll see you next time, Gundam believers!_**


	8. Calm Before the Storm

_**AN: Hey guys, lyokoMARVELanime here...**_

 _ **AXL999: Along with AXL999, and we're bringing you into the next round of Shield of the Cosmic Era.**_

 _ **AN: Uh, isn't that last part my line?**_

 _ **AXL999: What, there's nothing wrong with me saying it is there?**_

 _ **AN: Well I guess not, it's just...I just normally do it so...**_

 _ **Dearka: Oh don't be such an Yzak.**_

 _ **Yzak: I heard that!**_

 _ **AN: Pretty sure you were meant to, and I am NOT acting like him!**_

 _ **Yzak: Just get on with it already. I'd like to eventually see the part when Cap and the**_ **Archangel _crew meets..._**

 ** _AN: DAH! SPOILER! [hits control]_**

 ** _AXL999: [stares at Yzak for a minute] Huh, so that's what that one is supposed to do, huh?_**

 ** _AN: Apparently._**

 ** _Yzak: What? What is it?_**

 ** _Captain America: Nothing soldier. Just don't look in the mirror._**

 ** _Yzak: [looks in a mirror anyways to see he's been turned into a small, puppet version of himself] AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHH!_**

 ** _Captain America: What part of "don't look in the mirror" did you not understand?_**

 ** _AN: I was hoping you could tell me, Cap. I've been asking that same question for quite a while now._**

 ** _Yzak: I'm a puppet! A living puppet! One of you idiots had better fix this or I'll..._**

 ** _AXL999: What? Give us a splinter? More importantly, do any of us look like Geppetto to you?_**

 ** _Yzak: I don't care! Just change back now! I've got a big scene in this chapter today! [his nose suddenly grows longer] Okay, that's not funny! [nose grows even longer] Stop doing that!_**

 ** _AN: Hope he's not talking to one of us, because he's doing it to himself._**

 ** _Captain America: Mind if I just do the disclaimer so we can get the chapter started?_**

 ** _AN: We would be honored if you did, Cap._**

 ** _Captain America: Alright then._**

 ** _Neither lyokoMARVELanime or AXL999 own anything from any of the Gundam or MARVEL franchises or any other franchise mentioned in this story._**

* * *

 **Chapter 8: Calm Before the Storm**

In any war, there is hardly any real time for one to mourn for the lives that had been lost in battle, a fact that had been proven true time and again for many valiant warriors, and that had just recently been proven just as true for the members of the _Archangel_ 's crew and their new allies in the Desert Dawn. Everyone had wanted to mourn for the lives that were lost when the guerillas had foolishly tried to take revenge on Waltfeld for what his forces had done to Tassil, but at the moment, such things did not matter, because they had to focus on the upcoming operation that would allow Sahib and his people to free their home from Z.A.F.T.'s control and the _Archangel_ to break through to the Pacific Ocean, and the first matter that needed to be dealt with in order to prepare for such an undertaking was getting supplies for the _Archangel_ , the Desert Dawn, and whatever else they could get for the people of Tassil as well.

Such a thing would not be a problem if it was just for Tassil and the Desert Dawn's fighters alone, but since the _Archangel_ had not been expecting to land in Z.A.F.T. territory, they did not have the sufficient supplies for such a battle or even the journey that would await them if the operation was a success. Without those supplies, it would take nothing short of a miracle for the ship to travel through the desert in one piece, let alone survive another battle against the Desert Tiger, who now clearly knew a reasonable deal of their basic strengths, and since they were so desperate for those supplies, there was only one option that the group could pursue: A trip into the Tiger's den.

Everyone knew that going to Banadia for anything in general was risky due to the Z.A.F.T. presence there on its own, never mind the fact that it was where the _Lesseps_ made its base, but the town was the best place to get almost everything that they would be needing for this mission, so they had no choice but to try and take the risk. As such, Sahib, Murrue, and Halberton organized a small group that would venture into Banadia, and then split up into two, smaller teams to gather two different sets of supplies. The first group would consist of Sahib, Natarle, Neumann, and Kisaka, while the second would be comprised of Kira, Cagalli, Steve, and Logan, although; it was not a decision that was made hastily. By sending Kira, Steve, and Logan along on this supply run, the group was leaving themselves very vulnerable, but given all that had happened recently, it was clear that such a trip would be beneficial for the three warriors, as it would give them each a chance to get some fresh air and allow them to relax a little after all the battles that they had been in, plus with both Logan and Steve on the case, there was very little doubt that the team would be in any real danger.

The morning after they had settled everything that they would need to worry about in regards to what the teams would need for the supply run into Banadia, the group immediately set out with a promise to return once they had everything they needed, and a few hours later, a pair of jeeps had stopped in Banadia to allow Kira, Cagalli, Steve, and Logan to depart from the group so that they could gather the supplies they could find in the town.

"We'll see you in exactly four hours," Cagalli told Kisaka once she had climbed out of her jeep along with Kira.

Kisaka nodded to the blonde girl and then warned, "Be extremely careful."

"I hear you. Same goes for you," Cagalli replied with a nod of her own.

"Dismissed Ensi…Kira, Steve. Have a good time," Natarle then stated with a slight blush beginning to color her cheeks, as this was not something that she normally ever did.

Kira and Steve both raised curious eyebrows at the _Archangel_ 's second-in-command, but only the latter of the two ended up asking, "Natarle, have you ever done anything that did not relate to a military life?"

If it were possible, Natarle's face had actually turned even redder than before, and she was very thankful that Sahib decided that it was time for them to head out so that she did not have to answer the First Avenger's question. Once the two jeeps were out of sight and the two kids their heroic partners were left to their own devices, Kira took a chance to gaze around at the town, and he was honestly shocked at what he was seeing. Everyone he saw looked like they were enjoying themselves without a care in the world, and nothing about any part of the town he could see indicated that Z.A.F.T. was ever even in the town, let alone any sign of there being a base for said group. Simply put, it did not look anything like what he had pictured the town that Desert Tiger's headquarters would be located.

"Hey, what's with the stunned look on your face," Cagalli asked, snapping Kira out of his stunned surprise.

Kira barely glanced at the girl for more than a few seconds before he turned his gaze back to the town and asked, "You sure this is where the Desert Tiger's headquarters are? It all looks pretty…lively and untroubled."

"That's actually pretty typical of a town where any military force makes their base at Kira," Steve informed the young man, getting everyone's attention drawn to him and the civilian attire that Logan had given him for this trip. It was obvious that they could not let Steve come on this trip in his Captain America suit, so they were all glad that the dark blue jeans and blue short-sleeved shirt the last X-Man had were able to fit Steve. They seemed a little loose on him compared to the grey muscle shirt and jeans that Logan wore, but they were all just glad that they fit at all to be honest.

When Steve turned to Cagalli, the young woman instantly knew what Steve was silently asking, and she immediately asked for Kira to follow her so that she could show him something. Kira was not going to argue with the girl, as he knew firsthand what getting her angry would mean for his health, but when he saw what she wanted to show him, he was beginning to think that he probably should not have said anything in the first place.

"Like Cap said, it may look peaceful, but appearances can be deceiving," Cagalli stated as she and Kira looked on at the rumble that was obviously once a number of stone structures that were likely houses or small businesses. Looking around, Kira saw that while Steve and Logan were hanging their heads in respect for those that had likely lost their lives when this had happened, while the people of Banadia either ignored the rumble or just cast it wary, nervous glances, like they were afraid that so much as looking at the area would lead their own homes to the same fate. Beyond the rumble though, Kira had to give a soft gasp when he saw the massive, sand yellow ship that was clearly the _Lesseps_ , sitting strong and proud over the town like an imposing overlord.

"There you have it. That is the real ruler of the city," Cagalli half-snarled in distaste. "Anyone who rebels is mercilessly dealt with. This place belongs to Z.A.F.T., to the Desert Tiger."

"Not for much longer it won't," Steve promised, getting a small smile of thanks from Cagalli when she heard him.

After letting Kira take another minute to let this reality set in, the four turned away from the terrible sight and moved on to the stores so that they could get the supplies that they needed, which also consisted of some requests of items that members of the _Archangel_ crew and the Desert Dawn would like to have. As they were walking away though, Logan gave Steve a subtle nudge and whispered, "You did notice too, right? The fact that we've got someone watching us?"

"Yeah, I did," Steve quietly replied without turning his gaze away from what was directly ahead of him. "Whoever that guy is, he's been watching us since we went over to those ruins. Any ideas who he could be?"

"I've got a few hunches, but I don't think we'll get any straight answers on his identity without him telling us himself," Logan replied. "I doubt that I really need to tell you he's Z.A.F.T. though."

"Think he could be with Waltfeld," Steve asked.

"Considering we're on the Tiger's home turf, it wouldn't surprise me," Logan confirmed. "We'll just have to wait and see if we ever find out for certain though."

Steve nodded in agreement, and then turned his attention back to the matter at hand, certain that they would discover the identity of the man in the sunglasses, yellow and red shirt, and ridiculous hat sooner or later.

* * *

It was quite some time until the four finally decided to sit down and rest for a bit of lunch, and after carrying a number of the bags full of supplies and things for so long, Kira was honestly exhausted. He was still not entirely sure how he let Cagalli talk him into carrying so many of the bags, but if he were to be honest, it was probably due to the fact that she was not going to ask Logan to do it for obvious reasons, and because he was just too nice to say no to someone, especially a pretty girl. Hence the reason for his sigh of relief being mixed with exhaustion when he finally sat down.

"We managed to get most of everything that we needed, but the requests that Flay girl made are so ridiculous," Cagalli reported as she waved the list in her hand. "Lotion, beauty cleanser and moisturizer? None of those things are sold around here!"

"I can't believe that little princess actually requested such things at all," Logan grumbled, as he quickly thought of a few other girls who were more sensible about these situations than Flay was.

"To be fair, I doubt she really understands what it really takes to be a real soldier, despite voluntarily enlisting," Steve said. "If you ask me, she needs a serious wake-up call to reality before her current mindset gets her into real trouble."

Kira wanted to argue with the two heroes, but he found that he could not, as everything that they said was true. Flay may have voluntarily enlisted, but it seemed that she really had no clue as to what it really took to be an actual soldier on the frontlines, whether it be as a member on the _Archangel_ crew or otherwise, and that the redhead was just insisting on staying in the mindset she had before she had enlisted. Kira thought it would probably be a good idea for him to talk with Flay about that later, but given how most of their talks normally ended, he doubted that it would do much good.

Kira was brought out of his musings when the waiter placed the food that Cagalli had ordered for them all on the table before them, prompting him to ask the blonde girl, "What is this?"

"These are doner kabobs," Cagalli smiled eagerly in reply. "I'm so tired and hungry," she then added in a slightly less eager tone.

"Kinda surprising seeing as you didn't really do much of the heavy lifting here," Logan smirked in reply.

Cagalli would have thrown Logan a look for his comment, but she was honestly too hungry to really care at the minute, so she simply grabbed a bottle of chili sauce and said, "Let's just dig in already. First, add some of this sauce…"

"Hold it right there! Wait just a moment," a new voice cut in, getting the fours attention, and causing Steve and Logan's eyes to unnoticeably narrow a little when they recognized their little spy from earlier standing before them with a smile on his face as he held the other bottle of sauce. "How could you stoop to put chili sauce on your kabob? Now this yogurt sauce, that's the proper thing to add to such a dish."

"Really," Logan muttered sarcastically, honestly not caring one way or another seeing as he just wanted to eat his food and then down it with a beer that he had grabbed on his way over here.

"Yep, or rather than saying it's the proper thing, how shall I put it," the stranger nodded in thought for a minute. "Right! Not adding yogurt sauce to this dish is considered a form of sacrilege against doner kabobs."

"You got a screw loose or something," Cagalli demanded as she simply squirted her choice of sauce onto her kabob, much to the stranger's comic horror. "Who invited you anyway? You've got no right to walk up to strangers and tell them how to eat their food!"

"What a terrible waste," the man moaned as he looked away from Cagalli as she chomped down on her kabob with joy, leading both Steve and Logan to think that maybe the man was a little crazy if he was getting so worked up over this. Then again, the two of them had seen much crazier things in their lives, so they figured that it was not that bad.

"Here, you guys too," Cagalli all but ordered Kira, Steve, and Logan. "Doner kabobs and chili sauce were made for each other."

"I'm good, thanks," Steve politely declined.

"Leave me out of this," Logan waved to the blonde, silently threatening her to not try to drag him into her disagreement with the spy, leaving only Kira to fend for himself against Cagalli and the stranger's dispute.

When the stranger noticed Cagalli extending the chili sauce bottle towards Kira's dish, he instantly exclaimed, "Hey, hey, hey, hey, hey! No wait don't force your bad habits on this guy!" This led him into small struggle with Cagalli as they both tried to squirt a bit of their respective sauce preferences onto Kira's kabobs, until they ended up squirting both the respective sauces onto Kira's dish.

"Uh…whoops," the stranger muttered sheepishly as he set his bottle down and sat down at the table with the four. "I really have to apologize for that."

Kira did not say anything, as he had elected to take a bite out of his own kabob as the man was sitting down, until he smiled and replied, "Actually, no. The mixture of the two isn't bad."

Hearing this, Logan and Steve both elected to give their own kabobs a bit of both sauces so that they could avoid having to side with either Cagalli or the spy, and they both instantly agreed with Kira after they tried a bite. When Logan went to take a gulp of his beer, the stranger raised an eyebrow and asked, "A little early to be drinking, isn't it? Besides, you wouldn't want to get yourself drunk with these youngsters around, would you?"

Logan just chuckled in reply before he stated, "It'll take a lot more than this just to get me even a little tipsy, Bub."

"Trust me, he's not kidding," Steve reinforced.

The stranger just gave a small nod in reply before his eyes noticed the bags that the group had with them, and he had to comment, "Well, just look at the shopping you guys did. So, are you planning to throw a party?"

Cagalli was about to snap at the man once again when Steve cut across her and said, "Actually, we're with a community service group that helps the less fortunate. People who've lost their homes due to the war, and that sort of thing, and we need a lot of things for our next stop."

"Well that's quite noble of you guys," the stranger nodded in understanding. "So just where is your next stop anyways?"

Logan was about to reply when he picked up on a scent that did not bode well for them, but before he could say anything to anyone, Kira, Steve, and the stranger's attention was instantly drawn towards the sound of a rocket being fired. When they saw that the projectile was heading towards them, the stranger instantly shouted for the group to take cover and kicked the table over them so that it could take the hit, leading Kira and Logan to leap on top of Cagalli so that he could cover her from the attack. Sadly, they were not able to do anything to keep her from getting splattered by the food that had previously been on the table.

"Hey, are you all alright," the stranger asked over the sounds of gunfire that had erupted as he drew a gun from the back of his belt.

"We're fine," Steve nodded in thanks for the group. "What just happened though?"

The super soldier's answer came from Logan when the group heard the attackers shout a pair of phrases that the feral mutant had become very familiar with. "Blue Cosmos," Logan snarled, and he was soon jumping out from behind their cover to charge in and attack the terrorists. "Attacking a place where innocents and families are trying to eat is a big mistake, Bub, because it really ticks me off!"

"There's no such thing as an innocent Coordinator, you lousy space invader sympathizer," a Blue Cosmos member shouted as he took aim and Logan and fired. He was thrown for a loop though when he saw that, despite the fact his shots all hit Logan, the mutant was still standing and was now directing a very intense glare in his direction.

As he watched Logan take on the anti-Coordinator terrorists, Steve knew that there was no longer any point in trying to maintain their cover, as Logan was likely going to blow it even without being shot enough times to be killed, but he also had to silently curse the fact that he did not bring his shield with him on this trip. He knew that bringing his faithful vibranium shield would have been a dead give-away to his identity, but when he found himself in situations like this, he just could not help getting upset about the fact. That did not mean that he was helpless without said shield though, because with or without it, he was still Captain America, and he had always been more than just his shield. He immediately proved this true by grabbing a fallen plate and tossing it at one of the nearby terrorists, disarming said terrorists, and giving Steve a chance to race up and clock him with a hard right punch. Once the terrorist was knocked out, Steve was able to scoop up the dropped gun and start using it to fire on the remaining attackers, only pausing for a moment so that he could flip a trashcan lid into his free hand so that he had something of a make-shift shield.

Kira and Cagalli could only watch in awe of the super soldier as he continued to perform incredible feats in response to the surprise attack, as they had not expected anyone to be able to handle such a move so easily in these circumstances, and that awe did not fade in the slightest even once they remembered that Steve Rogers was not just anyone. Kira's attention was eventually diverted from the battle before him when he saw someone sneaking around from behind them to try and get a shot off at the stranger that had saved their lives, and feeling that he owed him a little, Kira instantly reacted on instinct and grabbed a nearby, fallen pistol. Instead of firing the weapon though, Kira actually tossed it at the attacker, throwing his aim off, and then knocked him out with a hard kick, much to Steve, Logan, and the stranger's smiling impression.

Kira's move on that attacker proved to be the last of the men who had launched said attack, and everyone was immediately beginning to calm down a little, even as Cagalli lightly reprimanded Kira for how he had used the gun in the first place. Not that she was ungrateful for what Kira did, but she just figured that it would have been smarter to use the weapon to shoot the man instead of throwing it away like some kind of throwing knife or something. Her argument had quickly died though when Steve walked over and said, "Nice work Kira. That was some impressive quick thinking on your part."

"Thanks Steve," Kira nodded, but their attention was soon directed to the mystery man when a Z.A.F.T. soldier suddenly ran up to him asking if he was alright.

"Yeah, I'm doing just fine, actually. All thanks to those three guys," the man replied to the Z.A.F.T. soldier, and he then turned to Kira, Steve, and Logan as he finally removed his sunglasses and hat, revealing his true identity to them all.

"You're kidding me," Cagalli quietly gasped. "You mean we were talking with Andrew Waltfeld?"

When the other three heard that, they all gave their own surprised reaction, with only Logan whispering what they were thinking. "So that's the Desert Tiger, himself."

"Well gentlemen, you've all saved my life," Waltfeld commented once he had walked over to the group. "How can I thank you?"

"There's really no need," Steve insisted, hoping that they could slip out of this situation before anything about them was revealed. "We were just happy to help."

"Come on, there's got to be some way I can repay you for this," Waltfeld insisted. He then noticed that Cagalli was still covered in sauce and food, and offered, "Why not at least let me help you get her cleaned up over at my place while we finish this lunch that I interrupted?"

Steve was about to refuse, but given the circumstances, he had a feeling that doing so would not bode well for them, so in the end, the group accepted Waltfeld's offer and were soon driving off to the Desert Tiger's home, each of them hoping that they were not walking into a trap as they did the entire time.

* * *

None of the four were entirely sure what they were expecting Waltfeld's home to be like, but Kira and Cagalli were certainly not expecting the place to be a large, lavish mansion that seemed fit for a king or someone in the Stark family. Sure it was surrounded by military vehicles, mobile suits, and the _Lesseps_ , but it was still shocking to see such a building was where Waltfeld lived in the first place. What the two found even more surprising was that Steve and Logan were not all that surprised by what the place was like, and when they quietly asked about that fact, Steve just whispered that it was actually no surprise considering where men like Victor Von Doom and Wilson Fisk had lived.

They did not spend much more time staring at the massive house, as they were soon ushered inside by Waltfeld's security, where they were greeted by a lovely young woman that Logan could instantly tell was Waltfeld's lover just by the fact he could pick up traces of the Desert Tiger's scent on her. The group was a bit hesitant to let this woman lead Cagalli away so the blonde could be cleaned up, but when she insisted that there was no reason to worry, the three men just let the girls go off and joined Waltfeld in his sitting room. When the three walked into the room, they were mildly surprised to see that Waltfeld was standing over a coffee set with enough cups for himself and his guests.

"I have great confidence that the coffee I prepare is first rate," Waltfeld informed them when he noticed the curious looks, leading Steve and Logan to wonder just how obsessed with food the supposedly great Z.A.F.T. commander really was until they noticed that something else had caught Kira's attention.

When Steve looked to the object in question, he saw that it was a small slab of rock that had the fossilized remains of a strange animal encased within it, and after studying it for a minute, Steve could tell that not only did the animal seem to be some sort of mix between a bird and a fish, but that the rock in question was actually just a scale replica. Before Steve could ask anyone about the object, he found his question being answered when Waltfeld took notice of Kira and Steve looking at it and said, "Evidence Zero One. Any of you ever see the real McCoy?"

"No sir," Kira replied.

"Can't say that I have," Logan replied.

Steve just shook his head, as he did not trust himself to not give away the fact that he had only just recently heard about the fossil that had been brought back from a space mission that proved the existence of extraterrestrial life. It did not really make sense that people would need such a fossil to prove something like that, considering that the Avengers, the X-Men, and so many other heroes had dealt with alien life either as allies or as enemies in the Twenty First Century, but considering how most people now considered the adventures that he had shared with all those heroes to be things of myth and legend, it started to make a little more sense to him. Still, one would think that the discovery of alien life from other worlds would be a fact that was not so easily forgotten by history that is unless S.H.I.E.L.D. found a way to cover it up, somehow.

"I have no idea why they call this thing a whale stone," Waltfeld muttered as he handed Kira and Steve a cup of his recently brewed coffee before retrieving his own cup and one for Logan as well, which the mutant declined in favor of another beer bottle that he had picked up. "Does it look like a whale to any of you guys?"

"Don't know, don't really care," Logan grumbled before he took a large swallow of his beer.

"I don't think I'm the best judge on such things myself. I never studied biology that thoroughly," Steve remarked.

"I really can't say for certain either," Kira then said.

Waltfeld just shrugged before he glanced at the replica of the fossil and said, "If you ask me, those look like wings. Whales don't normally come with wings, do they now?"

"Well no," Kira replied. "But it was brought back from a space mission as proof of the existence of extraterrestrial life, so…"

"Like we really need some rock from Mars to prove that," Logan muttered low enough for only Steve to hear, getting a subtle smirk from the super soldier in response.

"The point I'm trying to make is why's it the figure in this fossil assumed to be that of a whale," Waltfeld shrugged before he had a small taste of the coffee in his hand.

"So then what would be a better name for it," Kira asked as he did the same with his own coffee.

"Hmmm…I have to admit, nothing readily comes to mind," Waltfeld confessed with a shrug.

"Maybe something like…the Kree," Steve suggested.

Waltfeld chuckled a little as he stated, "Somehow I don't think that those aliens that we hear legends about from the history of the Twenty First Century have anything like this. On to more pressing matters: What's your assessment of this coffee? Or perhaps you haven't yet acquired such an appreciation for such an adult taste, young man."

Kira and Steve both had to chuckle a little at Waltfeld's idea of a more pressing matter, while Logan only gave a small, hidden smirk that almost no one would be able to see without knowing the mutant well enough. The three then finally sat down along with Logan after Kira and Steve both gave their own personal opinions of their drinks, which seemed to please Waltfeld quite a bit, and once they were all settled, Waltfeld had to comment, "Well as amusing as that thing may be its also problematic, or so I think."

"How the hell is some little fossil problematic," Logan asked, though one could just barely detect a hint of a demanding tone in his voice.

If he had noticed that tone that Logan had used in his question though, Waltfeld clearly ignored it, and said, "It was only because they found this thing that all this hope was suddenly opened up, or you might call it a possibility."

"A possibility of what," Steve asked.

"That human beings have the potential within them to go much further," Waltfeld replied. He then scowled after a moment and added, "Of course, that also happens to be the reason this war got started."

"It's a pretty lousy reason if you ask me," Logan growled, as that comment instantly had him thinking of the reasons Magneto insisted he had for doing the things he had done.

Before anyone could comment on Logan's words though, someone knocked at the door, and they all turned to see Waltfeld's lover standing there with a very startling surprise for Kira and his two friends. There with the older woman, was Cagalli, but it was not the same Cagalli that they had seen before, for the blonde girl was now all dressed up in a dazzling green dress with her hair done up, giving her a much more elegant, and girlish appearance as opposed to her usual tomboy style that she normally sported. Cagalli was clearly a bit embarrassed by how everyone was staring at her, but the slight dusting of pink on her cheeks did nothing to help her escape those stares in the least.

After staring for another few minutes, Kira found that the only thing he could say was a repeat of the words he had said when he had first met the blonde girl on Heliopolis. "You're a…a girl."

Cagalli's blush immediately vanished and was replaced by a scowl as she demanded, "What'd you think?!"

"N-no," Kira quickly exclaimed in his defense when he realized his blunder, hoping that he could show that he meant no offense. His attempts failed though when he said, "I was just saying this reminds me again that you're a girl."

"That announces the same thing, jackass!"

At that point, none of the other people in the room could hold back their amusement at the sight, as evidenced by the fact that Waltfeld and his lover were laughing quite hard at the two, while Logan was laughing so hard that it was almost scary. The only one of the four adults that was still able to hide his amusement was Steve, and even he was barely succeeding at that, given that he had to cover the amused smile on his face with one hand, much to Kira and Cagalli's embarrassment.

Cagalli found her face becoming a little redder when Logan commented between laughs, "Now this is…is not something that I…I expected from you…Ha…HAHAHAHAHAHA!"

Steve just shot Logan a small look after he finally gained control of himself and simply walked up to Cagalli and reassured her, "Just ignore them. You actually look very lovely, Cagalli."

"Th-thanks Steve," Cagalli stuttered, having not expected any compliments like that from anyone. Of course, that did not mean that she did not appreciate them at all, because after all, she was still a girl, and what girl did not like to be called pretty by someone every now and then.

Once everyone had finally settled down from their laughter and Waltfeld's lover, who the Desert Tiger indentified as Aisha, had left the room, everyone left in the sitting room took a seat around the small coffee table in between the two couches as Cagalli helped herself to the cup of coffee before her with the grace and elegance that one would expect from a person that came from high society. After watching the blonde for a minute, Waltfeld had to comment, "That dress actually does look quite flattering on you. From the looks of it, it would seem you're quire accustomed to dressing up in fine clothing like that."

"Say what you want," Cagalli muttered in retort, honestly not really caring all that much for compliments from someone that was supposed to be her enemy.

Waltfeld just brushed Cagalli's reply off with a shrug and stated, "The perfect little lady till you speak."

"Well it's just as hard for me to believe that you're the Desert Tiger," Cagalli then retorted. "Why spend your valuable time dressing people up? Is this another way for you to get your kicks, Waltfeld?"

"Well Aisha was the one who selected that ensemble," Waltfeld replied before questioning, "What do you mean by 'getting my kicks'?"

"Taking a trip into the city while wearing some disguise, or having people evacuate their town before burning it. That's what I mean."

 _You really need to learn how to keep your mouth shut on certain topics, girl_ , Logan thought to himself, hoping that Cagalli had not given them away anymore than he and Steve already probably had after the incident with Blue Cosmos.

Waltfeld seemed to just ignore the comment and instead elected to say, "You've got a lovely pair of eyes. Something sincere about them."

"Don't toy with me," Cagalli snapped.

"Calm down, girl," Logan warned the blonde, but it did not seem that Cagalli was willing to listen at the moment. Not that Logan could blame her, given the situation they were in, but it was clear that Cagalli was trying to hide her worry over the situation by taking a strong stand and acting tough.

"Are you one of those people who would rather be dead," Waltfeld asked. When the blonde did not reply, Waltfeld turned his attention to Kira and asked, "What about you then? What do you think about all this? What do you think needs to be done in order for this war to end? Give me your opinion as a mobile suit pilot."

"What makes you think that he's a mobile suit pilot," Steve immediately asked before Cagalli could say anything that would give them away.

Waltfeld just laughed before he replied, "You shouldn't bother trying to hide it. It's already pretty clear to me that he is the pilot of the Earth Forces mobile suit, the Strike, just as much as it is as to whom you and your friend there are…Captain America."

That one comment immediately put Steve and Logan on their guard as they moved to stand in front of Kira while he pulled Cagalli behind him, each watching Waltfeld's every move as he walked over to the nearby desk and pulled out a gun from the drawer. "Unlike in sports, the game of war has no set time limit, and no points are awarded," Waltfeld commented. "So how do you determine the winners and the losers? At what point do we put an end to it?"

Kira fell into silence as he had not really thought about it all that often outside of the battles that he had fought in, and looking to Steve and Logan, it was clear that neither of them had an answer to such a question either. Given how long the two had been fighting in their own wars though, it really did not come as much of a surprise that they did not know when they had spent so much of their lives fighting. Granted that they never took lives unless absolutely necessary, but when they were fighting in the Twenty First Century, it was usually just a matter of knocking their enemy unconscious so that they could be locked up in prison later. Still, even in a war against the evils and crimes of the world, how could one really know when you are finally able to end it?

Waltfeld had an idea of his own to suggest, and he did as such as he aimed a gun at the four and asked, "When every single one of your enemies has been destroyed? Perhaps then?"

Kira, Steve, and Logan were instantly running through various scenarios in their heads on how to escape their situation now and they were each casting subtle glances around the room so that they could, but no matter what they thought of, they could not see any easy way out of the place without someone getting seriously hurt. This fact was further reinforced when Waltfeld took notice of Kira's glancing, which was not as subtle as Kira had been hoping it would be, and warned them, "I'd advise you not to try anything stupid. Even with a super soldier serum, mutant healing powers, and possible berserker capabilities, you still wouldn't be able to force your way out of here with any degree of success. Every one of us here is a Coordinator, just like the young man here, so even with the legendary First Avenger and Last X-Man, there's no way you can overpower us all."

Cagalli gasped in shock at hearing this new information about Kira, and could barely bring herself to ask Kira if what Waltfeld said was true, but from the way Kira's eyes had narrowed after hearing Waltfeld say that, it was pretty clear that it was. She was brought out of her musings when Logan muttered to her, "Not the time, Cagalli."

When everyone's attention turned back to Waltfeld, the Desert Tiger continued, "I saw you in battle on two separate occasions. Take your adjustments for contact pressure against the sand and the heat convection parameters, and I would say among us coordinators someone like you would be considered a first rate specimen. If rumors are circulating around that it's actually a natural who's the pilot of the Strike, I'm not one to believe it without question. On top of that consider the amazing job you did getting us out of that jam earlier. I have no idea what your reasons are for deciding to fight against your own people, but as long as you remain the pilot of that Earth Forces mobile suit you and I are both destined to be sworn enemies even if we are both Coordinators, and the same goes for your two friends there, no matter how much I may admire them for the things they had done in the past."

Steve and Logan were not sure if they should feel flattered by Waltfeld's words or not, but at the moment, they really did not care either way, as it did nothing to change the fact that the man was still holding them all at gun point. At least until Waltfeld smiled and lowered his weapon as he finally finished, "It actually makes you wonder if there really is no other option than for one of us to be destroyed."

The four then watched in confusion as Waltfeld put his weapon back where he had gotten it from and said, "Well the fact is you all saved my life today and this time we aren't meeting on the battlefield."

After Waltfeld gave his pager a quick tap, Aisha walked into the room and held the door open for the four while the Z.A.F.T. commander stated, "You have permission to leave. I sure have enjoyed talking with you guys, though I can't tell whether or not it was beneficial."

"So that's it," Logan asked. "You let us into your home, threaten us, give us this whole speech on why think wars are messed up, and then you're just going to let us walk away because of some life debt or something?"

"Why not," Waltfeld shrugged in admittance. "Like I said, we aren't meeting on the battlefield today, and I have no reason to fight you guys in such a case, but the next time we meet though, it will be on the battlefield, and then I will have a reason to fight you all."

Logan just stared at Waltfeld for a minute, almost as though he was glaring directly into the man's very soul, until he finally huffed, "You're a real piece of work, Waltfeld, but I'm glad to see that you're one of the good kinds of soldiers. Guess the things I heard about you are true after all."

Waltfeld smiled in response to this, truly flattered by such a compliment from Wolverine, and made sure that he was aware of the fact before he asked Logan and Steve to wait a moment as he grabbed a pen and notepad from his desk. "Any chance I could get your autographs while you're here," the Desert Tiger asked. When Steve and Logan looked at Waltfeld as though he had grown a second head, Waltfeld just shrugged and said, "Hey even if you're both fighting against us, you're both still seriously famous legends to every human in existence whether they're from Z.A.F.T. or the Earth Forces."

The two had to admit that Waltfeld had a point, so they simply smiled and quickly signed the notepad for him before moving to join Kira and Cagalli in leaving the mansion, only stopping for a minute so that Cagalli could retrieve her now cleaned, regular clothes, and then change back into them before they finally left. As they were leaving though, Steve noticed Kira cast a small glance back at the mansion one last time, and he instantly knew that Waltfeld had given his young friend a great deal to think about in the coming days. Sadly, it was a question that Steve knew he would not be able to help Kira find the answer to, as he still did not know the answer himself, having been a soldier for nearly his entire life, and never knowing what to do once the fights were all over for him.

* * *

When Kira, Steve, Logan, and Cagalli had returned to the restaurant they had been attacked at, they were surprised to find Kisaka and Natarle there looking for them, at least until Natarle had gotten on their cases for missing the rendezvous time. Steve was quick to step up and explain what had happened, and of course, Natarle and Kisaka were both shocked to hear that not only had they been found out by Waltfeld and spoke with him face to face in his home, but that Waltfeld actually let them leave without any trouble at all. To Sahib and Kisaka, it seemed very strange to say the least, but no one was going to look this gift horse in the mouth, so they simply gathered up the supplies that they had all gathered and raced out of Banadia as quickly as they could without raising any more suspicion than necessary. Once they had all returned, Murrue was happy to let them give a brief report on what had happened to them before allowing the group to get some rest, saying that they would go into further detail on what had happened later on.

For Steve though, rest was the last thing on his mind, as the Blue Cosmos attack had given him some things to think about. From what he had seen, it was pretty clear that out of all the kids that were now with the _Archangel_ , officially or otherwise, the only one with any real battle experience was Cagalli. Now that does not mean that he thought Kira had no experience with combat, but he mainly believed Cagalli had more experience than Kira due to the fact that Kira had only ever fought in his mobile suit, and in a real war, being good at only one thing can only take you so far. Add in the fact that Kira and his friends had not had so much as a basic set of training, and Steve could already tell that they would be asking for trouble if they were to ever find themselves in a situation that required them to be ready for anything that they were likely thinking was not possible. This line of thinking permeated Steve's thoughts for the entire night and all of the next few days, until he remembered something that he had talked to Halberton about before coming to Earth and an idea that would likely solve the problem suddenly came to him.

Steve did not broach the idea to anyone right away though, as there were more important matters to discuss first in regards to the impending assault on the Desert Tiger's forces, all of which were being addressed by Murrue, Mu, Halberton, Natarle, Sahib, and himself. Things went rather smoothly, and by the time the meeting was over, Steve could honestly say that his respect for Sahib had grown a great deal, as Desert Dawn's leader had shown that he was more than willing to do whatever it takes to win his people and their home's freedom, even if it cost him his life, a fact that showed in the way that Sahib had spoken when he gave his reasons for why his men would be so willing to go so far for their homes, and Steve had always been able to respect someone that was so willing to pay the high price that freedom always came with. As soon as the meeting had ended though, Steve put all those thoughts out of his mind, and quickly approached Halberton and Murrue so that he could finally give them his proposal.

"Admiral Halberton, Commander Ramius," Steve called out, getting the two's attention in an instant. "I was wondering if I could speak with you two about something that I had mentioned before we made Earth fall."

"What do you mean, Steve," Murrue asked in confusion, as she was not entirely sure what the captain was referring to.

"Do you both remember when I asked if I could be allowed to train a select group of soldiers for special combat operations," Steve asked.

"Yes," Halberton confirmed with a confused look. "I'm sure I don't need to tell you this, Rogers, but I still fully intend on finding you the best possible candidates for such a group. I understand if you're getting a little impatient on the decision for those soldiers, but given our current situation…"

"With all due respect, sir, I think I may have already found the best people for the jobs," Steve interrupted.

Murrue and Halberton looked at Steve in confusion for a minute, but when the World War II captain explained who he had in mind and how he intended to train them, the two could not help but smile in both approval and a bit of eagerness at what was about to await the people that Steve had selected for this group.

* * *

Early the following morning, Sai, Miriallia, and Tolle had just arrived on the bridge to begin their shifts, when Neumann stopped them and said that they were being dismissed from their regular duties unless absolutely necessary along with Kuzzey, and then told them that they were to report to the hangar bay at once. The four former civilians were immediately confused by these sudden orders, but when Natarle implied that delaying in heading to the hangar would not be beneficial for them, the four immediately raced out the door to the nearest elevator so that they could head for the hangar bay, each wondering just what it was that would be awaiting them when they arrived in the largest room on the ship. When they finally arrived in the hangar, the question of what was going on was soon joined by another one when they saw who else was there waiting for something.

"Flay, what're you doing here," Miriallia asked in honest surprise when she saw her friend here, though she had a feeling that the answer had something to do with Kira, given the recent developments in her relationship with their Coordinator friend, a suspicion that was shared by the boys as well.

They were all naturally surprised when Flay actually replied, "I have no idea, really. I was just walking to the showers this morning when Commander La Flaga told me to get down here as soon as I was able to report for regular duty. He didn't say why beyond that it would be a huge benefit for me if I did."

"Yeah, Lieutenant Badgiruel said the same to us when we arrived on the bridge earlier," Tolle nodded. Before any of them could put anymore thought on the matter, Tolle quickly noticed the last person in their little group of friends was coming over to them, and immediately called out, "Hey Kira. You down here doing some work on the Strike."

"Well I was, until Mister Murdoch told me to stop," Kira admitted. "Actually, his exact words were, 'Get your ass out of the cockpit, kid, and get down onto the deck on the double. Captain's orders are for you to not spend any more time than absolutely necessary in the Strike's cockpit until further notice, so you can just forget about trying to use it as your living space for a while.'"

Everyone had to give a small laugh at Kira's repetition of the engineer chief's words, especially given the fact that Kira had done it in a near perfect impression of Murdoch's voice just for the fun of it, but it did nothing to keep them from wondering why the captain would not let Kira do any work on the Strike that was not absolutely necessary, given that Kira's constant work on the mobile suit was part of the reason why he was so good in a battle. They were quickly pulled out of both their laughter and their musings when they heard Mu shout, "Attention! Fall in line, soldiers. This isn't a school playground."

The five former students were all confused by Mu's sudden strict attitude, but given the look on the commander's face, they were sure that it would not be a good idea to test him, so they immediately fell in line as ordered and stood at attention. Once they had, they all glanced to the side to see Steve approaching them, fully decked out in his Captain America attire once again, and the super soldier gave Mu a small nod in thanks before he brought his full attention to the five standing in line before him.

"A very important matter has been on my mind ever since I first woke up, but it was not until just recently that I felt that it was necessary to fully address it," Steve announced in a commanding tone of voice that none of them had ever heard him use outside of a battle. "That matter is the lack of training that you five possess as soldiers."

"Does it really matter if we don't have any real training," Tolle asked, clearly having not been able to read the mood well enough. "I mean, we're already full-fledged soldiers on the ship, and it's not like any of us do any fighting aside from Kira, and he's always in a mobile suit."

"Would you care to repeat that, soldier," Steve shouted in what sounded like anger.

"N-no sir," Tolle immediately startled in reply, having been frightened by Steve's sudden outburst.

"Good, but that doesn't mean you're off the hook. Drop and give me twenty, NOW," Steve then ordered, and considering how harsh his tone sounded, Tolle had no desire to argue. Once Tolle had gotten well into the twenty push-ups he had been ordered to do, Steve looked back at the other students and stated, "Kira may be the only one of you fighting, but even he lacks even the most basic training that any soldier worth their salt should possess. In order to correct that, Captain Ramius has granted me full permission to run you all through the same basic training that I went through when I first enlisted to fight in World War II."

Kira and his friends' eyes all widened in shock at this, as there was no doubt that getting any kind of training from Captain America was certainly a great honor, but that feeling of excitement and honor that was building up inside them quickly began turning to worry as Steve continued his speech. "My first day in basic training, Colonel Phillips said the following to me: 'General Paton has said that wars are fought with weapons but are won by men. We are going to win this war because we have the best men, and because they are going to get better. Much, _much_ better.' I'll admit, that last part was mostly directed at me, but the point still stands. We are not going to win this war because we have better weapons, but because we have the best soldiers, and because they are going to get better, and that starts with you five. By the time I have finished running you all through this basic training, you will be exhausted beyond comprehension, you will have been pushed to and past your limits to near unbearable levels, and you will likely be cursing my name out as much as many new Xavier Institute students had towards Logan after their first Danger Room session with him. In the end though, it will allow you to be able to become a fighting force that has not been seen since World War II, should you so desire to do so. Once this is over, you will all have likely earned the right to be the newest generation of the Howling Commandos."

"At this time, you are all holding a strong chance of being allowed to proceed to that level of training, which will be even more intense than this, but that is all it is for you five at this time: a chance. If I decide that you are not up to the challenge of Howling Commando training, then you will not be permitted to proceed to it until I say otherwise, but beyond my say so, the choice will be yours. At this time, Commander La Flaga is the only one who is guaranteed a spot in the Commandos, so if you want to become anything like the legends that the first Howling Commandos were, then I suggest you put everything you have into this training, because once we are done, you will be among the few that will personally escort the scum of the Earth, whether it be in this war or any conflict, to the gates of Hell."

Hearing how bad Captain America was planning for his training to be, which would likely mean that it would be just as bad, seemed to discourage Kira and his friends a little, but when Steve told them that they had a chance to become the next Howling Commandos, they found their excitement building up a little. Still, there was one matter that they each felt that they needed to address. "Do you really think we have what it takes, sir," Sai asked, voicing the question that they were all wondering.

Steve just stared at Sai for a minute, before he replied, "Let me answer that by asking you all this: Do you want to fight and kill your enemies, whether they are Coordinators or otherwise."

"What does that have to do with anything," Flay demanded. "The whole point of this war is to defeat the Coordinators that are threatening the Earth."

Miriallia gave Flay a small nudge for that comment, prompting the redhead to shoot an apologetic look in Kira's direction, but it did not seem like Kira paid it all that much mind, if the saddened look in his eyes was any indication. Steve brought their attention back to the matter at hand as he said, "I did not ask what the point of this war is, nor did I ask for your prejudiced opinions on anything, I just want you all to answer my question. Do you want to kill your enemies, whether they are Coordinators or otherwise."

The group looked between themselves in confusion until Kuzzey finally asked, "Is this a test?"

Steve just returned their stare with a hard one of his own, not saying anything in reply, yet still clearly telling them that Kuzzey's assumption was correct. None of them were sure what to say, until Kira finally spoke up. "We don't want to kill anyone. We just want to protect what's important to us and to those we care about."

Looking at the other young soldiers, Steve could immediately tell that they all shared Kira's sentiment, even if some of them did not want to admit it as willingly, and he simply gave a small smile and said, "Well then, I think you have your answer as to whether or not you have what it takes."

"But why train us, sir," Miriallia asked.

Steve just smiled again before he replied, "When I first enlisted in the army, my friend Erskine told me that there were already so many big men fighting on the front lines, so perhaps what we needed now was a little guy. If you ask me, that same idea applies here as well. Erskine offered me a chance because he believed in me, and now I'm offering you all a similar chance because I believe in you."

Hearing those words immediately allowed the five former students to make their decision, and they all quickly accepted Steve's challenge for him to train them, even though they knew full well that there was no way any of them were going to get out of the basic training anyways. Steve then went on to inform the five of their new training regiment until the time of the operation against the _Lesseps_ , while Murrue, Halberton, and Logan just watched from the side with smiles on their faces. After another minute of silence though, Murrue found that she had to ask the last X-Man, "Did you really have new Xavier students cursing your name after their first Danger Room session with you?"

"Oh I had them doing a lot more than that, darling," Logan chuckled. "I wanted all the kids under my care at the Institute to be ready for anything, and the best way to do that was by throwing them right in the deep end of a Danger Room session, hence the reason why many of the students affectionately called it a welcome to Hell on Earth. Good times."

Both Earth Forces soldiers looked at Logan in slight apprehension after hearing about what Logan considered to be "good times", but in the end, they said nothing about it and simply returned their attention back to Steve's training of the five students, mostly out of curiosity as to how good a drill sergeant Captain America really was.

* * *

It turned out that Captain America was a very brutal drill sergeant, a fact that Kira and his friends had quickly learned the hard way after the near inhuman number of push-ups that Cap had them run through, the number of obstacle courses that Steve had set up with help from Desert Dawn, and the fact that he would also be quick to get on them if any one of them were to fall behind by even the tiniest amount. Flay was the one who complained the most at first, but after being forced to do more push-ups every time she so much as complained about how much sand was getting in her hair, she quickly learned to keep her mouth shut as much as possible. What really came as a surprise to the group was that even Kira was getting seriously exhausted and worn out by the amount of various drills and exercises that they had to do, as everyone had expected Kira to hold a little stronger than the rest of the former civilian kids, but Steve was quick to explain that he was training them to the breaking points of even the average Coordinator since he believed it would help them to get a better idea of how their current enemy handles things, and everything quickly made sense again from that point on.

Every one of the kids were seriously considering questioning their sanity for ever agreeing to do this basic training, but when Kuzzey and Flay tried to back out of it, Steve quickly informed them that not taking part in this was not optional for any of them, and the complaints that the two made only served to lead the entire group into another round of fifty push-ups. None of the others could blame Flay or Kuzzey for wanting to get out of this, as Flay was never one for this kind of work, and Kuzzey was just far too nice to have become a soldier at all, but they had to acknowledge that Steve was right in saying that doing this would be of great benefit to them all. In all honesty, the _Archangel_ Officers, Cagalli, Kisaka, and Sahib were not sure if they should have found this humorous or if they should just be thankful that they were not enduring in the same position as the other five, until Logan said that he could do worse to them with the simplest of things, leading them to quickly make up their minds on the matter.

Eventually though, Cagalli and Mu had to quickly change their minds and find it humorous again when they saw Steve approaching them as he led the group in a run around the perimeter of the guerilla camp and the _Archangel_ numerous times, and the six all let out groans of relief as they collapsed on the ground after Steve had called out for them to halt. Their problems were not over yet though, as Steve quickly pointed to a flag pole that Kisaka had helped him to set up and said, "That flag that is now raised up there on the pole, means you've only reached the halfway point of this run, and if you're all collapsing now, then you've got no business serving in a military. However, consider this a lucky day for one of you, because whoever can retrieve the flag and bring it back to me, gets a ride back to the _Archangel_ and an early lunch with Miss Cagalli and Commander La Flaga. MOVE SOLDIERS!"

The six friends did not need to be told twice, for they were all quickly scrambling for the flag pole nearly the minute that Steve had told them about getting a ride back to the ship for an early lunch. The minute they had reach the pole, they were all scrambling to climb up it as fast as they could with limited to no success. Even when Kira managed to get a decent way up the pole, he only ended up sliding back down the pole again into his friends that had huddled around at the base of the pole, and was then nearly trampled when the others started trying to get up the pole again.

"Nobody has ever made it through this little exercise since I did in the Forties," Steve shouted out with a smile. He then watched them struggle to get the pole for another minute until he finally told them to fall back in to return to the run. Before he could order them to move out, he noticed that one member of the group had not returned with the others, and he quickly spun around to see that the person in question was actually still at the flagpole. "Buskirk, I said fall in," Steve shouted to the young, nervous crewman.

Kuzzey did not reply though, and instead elected to pull the picks holding the flagpole up out and let the pole fall to the ground with a clang. Everyone then just stared as Kuzzey pulled the flag free of the pole and then handed it to Cap with a near breathless, "Thank you, sir." Once the young man had climbed into a seat in the jeep that Cagalli and Mu were sitting in, the two blondes had to struggle in suppressing their chuckles at how quickly Kuzzey seemed to pass out in exhaustion until they had driven far enough away.

Steve looked from the flag to where the jeep had driven off to, and had to smile a little at how Kuzzey had managed to do the same thing he had done in the past before he turned his attention back to the remaining, awe-struck kids and ordered them to move it out once again. The remaining five somehow managed to suppress a groan as they started running once again, but once they were well away from the pole, Tolle had to ask, "How come none of us thought of that?"

"Beats me. I'm still trying to figure out how you didn't think of that, Kira," Sai admitted, as he was sure that Kira would have thought of a solution as simple as that.

Kira just shrugged as best as he could and replied, "Nobody's perfect, even Coordinators."

"Is there something you three care to share with the rest of us," Steve shouted at the three gossiping boys.

"SIR, NO SIR," the three immediately exclaimed.

"Then I suggest you save the gossiping for the mess hall! This is not a high school gym class, this is basic training, so unless it is absolutely necessary, keep your mouths shut, is that clear," Steve hollered.

"Yes sir," the boys replied once again, and they all immediately put their focus back on finishing up the run that they were sure that Steve was using to try and kill them.

* * *

It was nearly sunset by the time that Steve finally had the group doing something a little less taxing, but they were not expecting Steve to set up a make-shift shooting range for them. "Earlier, Cagalli had pointed out that none of you have ever held a gun before, and while for Kira, that's not entirely true, it does not change the fact that you are all soldiers who have never used a side-arm for the typical purpose of such a weapon. This training exercise is to help you all familiarize yourselves with a basic handgun, which you will be more likely to use more than any other weapon in the positions you are in, and in general. This is not to make you all into people that go out and shoot people on a daily basis, but to ensure that when you did need to use a gun, you will be able to use it, and you will know how to use it in a way that will be best for a situation."

"Uh Captain, aren't guns only good for killing people? How else can they be used, sir," Kira asked, honestly hoping that Steve was not going to let them continue with this.

Steve was not surprised by Kira's question, given the boy's nature, so he already had an answer lined up for it. "What do you think a bow and arrow is normally used for," Steve asked. When no one answered, Steve stated, "At one point, it was used to hunt and kill, but I've seen people use such weapons for other things. When men like Clint Barton, the first Hawkeye, took a shot at an enemy, they did not normally shoot to kill, but to disable or disarm. I intend to train you all in how to do that so that when you do use a gun, you will avoid any unnecessary bloodshed. Now, each of you, step up to a spot on the range, ready your weapon, and pay close attention, as I will only cover the targets I want you to hit only once."

The six young soldiers immediately did as Steve had told them to, and once they all had a practice handgun in their grasp, Steve showed them a large graph of points on the human body that could be shot without killing a target and then told them to try their best to hit those indicated points on the practice targets that had been set up. Once everyone nodded in understanding, Steve stepped to the side with Mu and watched as the six did their best to hit those targets in a time limit that he had set up for them. After watching for about ten minutes, Steve called time and then went up to examine the results. In all honesty, he was not expecting anything too spectacular from the kids, so he was not surprised that the first few targets only showed reasonably good results. When he came up to one target that was slightly better than the others, it took little time for him to realize that it was Kira's, which was only natural given how much time Kira had now spent fighting in the Strike, but eventually, the last target was the one that really caught his attention.

Wanting to make sure he was not seeing things, Steve looked over to Mu and asked the mobile armor pilot to take a look at the results as well. When Mu took a look as well, the blonde had to blink a few times to make sure that he was not seeing things as well, but in the end, he had to nod in confirmation that they were both seeing the same thing in regards to the results that they were seeing. After he received this confirmation, Steve looked to the six and asked, "Who was it that was at this last station here?"

The group all immediately became nervous and hesitant to respond, each worried about what it was that made Steve ask that question, until the person in question stepped forward. "It was me, sir," Miriallia declared.

"Step forward Miss Haw," Steve ordered, and Miriallia hesitantly walked up to where Steve and Mu were standing. Steve just stared at Miriallia for a minute, causing the girl to get even more nervous under his gaze until he finally asked, "Can you tell me how you did this?"

Miriallia looked from the practice target to Steve in confusion for a minute and then asked, "I'm not sure I understand, sir. What exactly are you referring to?"

"Miriallia, take a good look at this target, and I think you'll find that you achieved a near perfect score," Steve revealed. Miriallia gave a small gasp in surprise at this, and immediately turned her attention back to the target again to see that Steve was right. Every shot she had fired at the target was nearly dead center on the areas that had been specified. "I've honestly never seen such accuracy from anyone outside of guys like Hawkeye and Black Widow, let alone someone who's a first-time shooter," Steve went on once Miriallia had let the matter set in. "So I'll ask again: How did you do this?"

Miriallia just looked from the target to Steve once again before she simply shrugged and said, "I can't really say, sir. I'm just as surprised as you are. Maybe it was just luck?"

"Considering how many times you kids were shooting at these things, I wouldn't call it luck, little Missy," Mu told the girl.

Steve nodded in agreement and then set up a new target program before leading Miriallia back to her previously used station. "Let's see just how much of it really was luck for certain," Steve told Miriallia as he held out the handgun to her.

Miriallia just slowly grasped the gun in her hand before taking aim at the target as Steve explained that this program would cause multiple targets to pop up for a few seconds at a time, and that she was to try and hit only points on the targets that would disable an opponent. It honestly seemed to the others that Steve might have been going a little too fast all at once for Miriallia, but when the girl just swallowed and nodded in understanding, they seemed to relax a little. A minute later, the program had started, and the only sounds that were heard after that were the sounds of the targets popping up and then going down along with Miriallia firing her gun. After watching for a few minutes, Steve brought the program to an end and examined the targets.

When Steve finished examining the targets, he smiled and said, "Looks like luck had nothing to do with it. You managed nearly the exact same score as before on the previous program. Looks like we may have a natural sharpshooter in our midst."

Everyone had to run up and give Miriallia a word of congratulations or a pat on the back for her success, much to the girl's slight embarrassment and smiling pleasure. As Steve and Mu watched from the side, the two had to smile at the prospects that this would open up for the new Howling Commandos, but they were actually a little saddened by the fact that Miriallia was going to have to use such talent at all in the first place for fighting in a war. It was a sad truth, but it was still a truth that would have to be faced sooner or later. After giving the group another minute to praise Miriallia, Steve called everyone's attention back to the exercise and then moved to watch as the group continued to improve their skills with a hand gun as much as they could in the time that was left before they finally turned in for the day.

* * *

Steve had the six young soldiers running through the same drills and exercises for the next few days, studying the progress of each one of them and the efforts that they had put into their training as closely as he could, until they finally reached the end of the week when that training came to an end. That same night that the training had ended saw Steve sitting in the Mess Hall of the _Archangel_ as he looked over the various notes and observations he and the ship's other commanding officers had made on the six kids' progress in an effort to make his final decision on which ones he would advance to Howling Commando training. Natarle had told him that he could study that information later, but Steve insisted that he needed to do so as quickly and as soon as possible, so the _Archangel_ 's XO just left him to it.

In all honesty, Steve was not surprised that Flay's results were not as great as the others', or the fact that he found her results to be below the standard he had set for the Howling Commando training regimen that he was planning, but given what he was looking at, he could say that her skills as a soldier were certainly satisfactory enough to be at the basic level of a typical soldier in the regular ranks. Still, he could see the redhead getting some additional training in the medical area, because there was always a need for more doctors in an army. As for the others, he was honestly not surprised that they had each met his original expectations. Kira's inclusion was a no-brainer for the obvious reasons of his being a Coordinator and the pilot of the Strike, but he also saw a great deal of potential for Kira being a tech specialist as well. The next obvious choice for the group was Miriallia, as her skills with a handgun proved to extend to other types of firearms as well, so the girl was a certain option for a team sharpshooter. That just left the other slots that he needed to fill for the team.

"So, how's it going," a familiar voice asked, and Steve had to smile a little when he turned around and saw Murrue walking over to where he was sitting. The ship's captain had likely just finished her shift for the day and was heading back to her quarters, because her uniform's jacket was unzipped and hanging loosely on her to reveal a white and light red shirt beneath it, leading Steve to stare at the woman in her surprising beauty for a minute.

After he shook himself out of seeing Murrue outside of her usual uniformed state, Steve eventually waved for her to join him and replied, "Pretty good so far. Aside from Miss Allster, they all seem to have a lot of potential."

Murrue nodded once she had sat down across from the super soldier, and then found herself gazing at the notes he was studying to see that Steve was correct in his words. After a minute though, Murrue found her attention going from the notes to the man across from her as he studied them, and aside from the obvious appealing parts of his usual visage, Murrue could also see some signs of slight fatigue in Steve's eyes and posture, leading her to wonder just how much sleep he had been getting lately. When Steve reached for another paper of notes, Murrue placed her hand on his to stop him for a moment and asked, "Are you doing alright, Steve? You look a little tired."

Steve could see the amount of concern that was radiating from Murrue's eyes, and found he could only say, "I've honestly spent a lot of time thinking about all of this without any rest, but in addition to that, I think that my encounter with Waltfeld had got me thinking about a few things."

"Such as," Murrue pressed.

"He asked us if we knew at what point we put an end to all the fighting in a war, and if it was at the point where all of your enemies were destroyed or killed," Steve explained. "Having fought in so many different wars myself, I know that it takes a great deal for someone to say 'stop fighting' enough times until everyone listens, but being a soldier for so long actually sometimes makes me wonder if it's even possible to tell myself to stop fighting. Being a soldier is really all I've ever known in life, it's a large part of who I am, and really I feel more at home fighting for freedom and what is always the right thing than I ever have been just thinking about what I will do once all the fights are over. I mean, I have thought of finding a place to settle down and call home, but it's just never felt all that comforting to me."

"So you've never thought about what you would want to do if you ever stop fighting some kind of battle," Murrue asked.

Steve looked up in thought for a minute before he sighed, "The last time someone asked me what I wanted to do instead of always fighting, I told him I didn't know, and in all honesty, I still don't know. The thought of settling down and living the peaceful life has just become something of an alien feeling to me. To quote that same friend, 'my bed just feels too soft.'"

Murrue had to chuckle a little at the words that Steve said at the end, but it did nothing to assuage the fact that she felt a great deal of sadness for the legendary hero. Thinking back to what she had learned from history, she found that there was never any mention of what Steve had done between all the great battles and conflicts he had faced unless it was involving some matter with the Avengers such as forming a new team, or even more fighting. Whether it had been in history books or otherwise, it was clear that for Steve, there had not been a time when he was not Captain America and just Steve Rogers for a long time now. Such an idea was very sad to think about, and Murrue found that she could not keep herself from absently rubbing her fingers along the back of Steve's hand in a comforting manner as she said, "I'm sure you'll find your answer someday, but until then, I'm sure that you'll keep fighting the good fight as you search for what it is you want."

Steve smiled in thanks to Murrue for her words of comfort, until they finally realized that they were still holding each other's hands and pulled apart with a mild blush and a smile on their faces. Steve was about to look back to his notes in an effort to keep himself from staring at Murrue's brown eyes, but the ship captain in question was quick to pull the clipboard in his hands away and then order him to go get some sleep. Steve was not going to argue with her, as he knew how dangerous it was to get a military woman angry, thanks to that one time when Peggy had shot him, and just nodded in understanding before returning to his quarters to get some sleep. He did not realize that Murrue was watching him leave for a minute before turning her own attention to the notes that Steve had been previously looking over for a few minutes in an effort to distract her from the thoughts that were entering her mind.

The whole time the two had been talking though, neither of them had realized that Kira had been listening from just around the corner, having wanted to talk to Steve about what Waltfeld had said to them as well and thus gotten an answer from Steve without even needing to ask the super soldier. Once he had let the fact that Steve was still looking for an answer set in, Kira gave a small yawn and returned to his quarters for the night as well.

* * *

The following afternoon, Steve could not help but smile as he looked on at the group before him. When he had met up with Kira and his friends for breakfast that day, he had told them of his decision on who he would train to be the next Howling Commandos, and each person that had been selected immediately agreed with determination set in their eyes. Despite their initial complaints about Steve's basic training regimen, they had quickly learned to adapt and even endure it, so the young soldiers that Steve had chosen for the commando training were more than confident that they would be able to endure that training as well.

Now Steve stood in the hangar before the ones who had signed on for this training, and looked on as they each finished gearing up for both the general areas of combat and their own respective fields of training. Sai was now equipped with a number of supplies that were best used for code breaking in a variety of situations, and next to him, was Tolle who had every variety of demolitions ordinance that one could carry on their person. Moving on from them saw Miriallia checking over both a handgun and a sniper rifle before she holstered both weapons in their respective places on her person and moving on to help Kuzzey with setting up the various communications equipment that her friend with be using. The group was then rounded out by Kira, was now equipped with every variety of technology maintenance tools and devices that one would expect from a military tech specialist.

Mu looked over the five kids for a few minutes before he commented, "They might not be ready for all of this, you know."

Steve nodded in consent before he said, "For now, they don't have to be ready for anything, just the upcoming operation at best."

Mu nodded in understanding of this and then brought his full attention onto the kids who were now fully prepared for action and standing at attention as they looked to Captain America for both guidance and orders. Steve could only smile at them as he gave them the only order that they would need for the moment. "Let's get to work…Howling Commandos."

* * *

 ** _AN: Well there you have it! The new generation of Howling Commandos is on the rise, and Z.A.F.T. is going to be in trouble when they strike_**

 ** _AXL999: We had actually discussed the idea of Cap training Kira and his friends to be the Howling Commandos in some of the earliest planning stages of this story, and as you can see, the idea had a great deal of merrit._**

 ** _AN: Right, but in the end, we also figured that it wouldn't hurt to take the idea a little further eventually. Neither of us are going to give away any details on the matter, but I will say this much, certain things that happened here are little clues as to what will happen later on in the group's training._**

 ** _AXL999: I actually suggested that Miriallia become a sharpshooter so that she and Dearka would have something to talk about when they eventually meet, just so you guys know._**

 ** _AN: Moving on from that, I know we didn't really do a lot with the whole trip in Banadia, but to be fair, there really wasn't all that much I could do there beyond what you all saw. Maybe there was something though that someone else thinks could've been done, but whatever that thing is, I couldn't see it._**

 ** _AXL999: But you did see a lot of opportunities to throw in some little Captain America movie references._**

 ** _AN: Yeah that was fun. If you've seen Captain America: the First Avenger and Captain America: The Winter Soldier, then you were probably able to see those references pretty easily. If you haven't, I'm not going to tell you what they are. You'll just have to see the movies to find out for certain._**

 ** _AXL999: And then there's that little bit between Cap and Murrue. From the looks of things, I'd say our little pairing dilemma is at an end, huh?_**

 ** _AN: Couldn't have said it better myself. But don't think we're going to do all that much with that relationship just yet, because there's going to be a lot of other things going on that will take a higher priority for the next couple of chapters or so._**

 ** _AXL999: Well, nothing else to really say at this time, so Onto the Preview!_**

 ** _AN: Hey! Now that is DEFINITELY my line!..._**

 ** _The final push against the Desert Tiger is upon the team, as the new Howling Commandos find themselves facing their first real battle while Cap and Kira are fighting in their mobile suits, leaving Wolverine to take command of them when the First Avenger finds himself caught in a situation that requires most of his attention. Can the heroes survive the onslaught that awaits them, and just how far will things escalate until Waltfeld is ready to admit defeat? Next time on Shield of the Cosmic Era…_** **Chapter 9: The Tiger's Final Hunt** ** _. Show your unstoppable courage Gundam and Captain America!_**

 ** _AXL999: Well that's a wrap so Please..._**

 ** _AN: Read and review, and I'll see you next time, Gundam believers! Yeah. Go pout. I win._**

 ** _AXL999: Real mature, lyokoMARVELanime._**

 ** _AN: Alright, alright. Fine. No hard feelings._**


	9. The Tiger's Final Hunt

_**AN: Hey guys and happy holidays! lyokoMARVELanime here, with a little Christmas gift for you all in the form of the newest chapter of Shield of the Cosmic Era!**_

 _ **AXL999: Nothing like the holidays, huh?**_

 _ **AN: You said it my friend. You said it.**_

 _ **Yzak: How about you explain what the hell you've been doing?! I thought you said you weren't going to be starting anything new until you've finished Chaos Hunters, and yet look at this, you've got another new story up!**_

 _ **AN: Okay, here's what happened in regards to that. I've really been trying my best to put focus on Chaos Hunters and this story, but unfortunately, I've fallen into a bit of a slump with the former, and after watching a lot of Arrow and The Flash, I guess you could say that a lot of my mind went back to a project that I said I was going to do work on a year ago, so after much consideration and having the idea bounce around in my mind for a while, I just had to start up my newest story, the Justice League & Captain America crossover, Justice Marvel! **_

_**Captain America: Look at this way, Yzak, at least you're not the only one doing double duty for a story now. Now I've got to do work for this story and that one as well.**_

 _ **Yzak: That doesn't make it better! Seriously, we all want to see what happens when the**_ **Archangel _crew finally arrives in Orb, and when they meet guys like..._**

 ** _AN: DAH! SPOILER! [hits control and music starts playing]_**

 ** _Yzak: What the hell is...? [gets hit by a reindeer drawn sleigh]_**

 ** _Speakers: Yzak got run over by a reindeer!~ Trying to give away spoilers for a story.~ You can say there's no such thing as Santa~ But as for me and Yzak, we believe!~_**

 ** _AXL999: Wow. I did not see that coming. And yet somehow, I feel like that's appropriate._**

 ** _AN: Well hey, no reason to ignore the holidays even in the simplest of things. Now let's get on with the story._**

 ** _Neither myself or AXL999 own anything from any of the Gundam or MARVEL franchises or any other franchise mentioned in this story._**

* * *

 **Chapter 9: The Tiger's Final Hunt**

Waltfeld was not really angry at the moment, but it would be more accurate to say that he was really annoyed, and the reason for this was the recent supply shipment report that DaCosta had just handed him detailing the latest arrival of supplies and troops from Gibraltar. "What is up with those guys at Gibraltar," Waltfeld demanded as he threw down the repot on his desk. "Why are they sending us ZuOOTs? Are they all out of BaCUEs?"

"Well…they said they couldn't provide us with any more of them," DaCosta hesitantly replied, although considering what else Gibraltar had sent them, his hesitance was likely due in no small part to the irritation he felt in regards to the two pilots that had come along with the last two machines. This quickly became clear when the Desert Tiger's second-in-command threw a small look to the side as he almost snidely commented, "Perhaps they think they're doing us a favor by sending _those two_ guys."

Waltfeld did not even need to try and guess to know that DaCosta was talking about the two Z.A.F.T. reds from the Le Creuset Team who were also the pilots of two of the stolen Earth Forces suits, and in all honesty, he could not blame his SIC for his attitude towards them. In all honesty, Waltfeld never could stand the masked man for a multitude of reasons, including the fact that he held a great deal of Vice-Chairman Zala's favor, and the fact that something about Le Creuset just did not feel right to him. Of course, Waltfeld's personal feelings were not the only reason why he did not like the idea of having those two here, as he was well aware of the fact that the two's battle experience was only limited to space, so since this would likely be their first battle under gravity, they would be about as helpful to the upcoming battle as a pair of first-year rookies, even if they were from an elite unit.

In the end, Waltfeld figured he might as well shrug it off for the moment and then headed out to meet the two new arrivals along with DaCosta. Upon reaching the upper deck, it did not take either of the two desert combatants long to spot their new "reinforcements", mostly due to how much the red pilot suits made the boys stand out, and from what Waltfeld could see, they both seemed like they were not that much older than Kira was. It actually made Waltfeld a little sad to see that there were so many kids out fighting on the battlefield these days, even if most of them were old enough to drive by now, but given how this war was going, he would not deny that it was likely only a matter of time until such a thing happened. That did not mean he had to like it though. Waltfeld cast such depressing thoughts aside and made sure to bury his concerns about having such young soldiers under his command underneath a smile before he finally walked up to the two just in time to hear the blonde boy comment on how awful the desert seemed to him.

"They say you can't really appreciate the desert until you've lived here, so welcome to the _Lesseps_ ," Waltfeld told the blonde in response to his words while also greeting both boys. "I'm Andrew Waltfeld, the commanding officer here."

"Yzak Joule of the Le Creuset Team," the silver haired boy stated as he saluted Andrew.

"Dearka Elsman, also of the Le Creuset Team," the blonde then added as he copied his friend's actions.

"It must've been tough getting down here," Waltfeld commented as he and DaCosta returned the two's salutes. "We appreciate you coming down here."

"Thank you, sir," Yzak replied as he moved to stand at ease.

It was at this point that Waltfeld could not help but notice that Yzak had a very nasty scar running across his face, and thus he could not help but comment on the matter and say, "When one doesn't have a bad scar removed, some might think it's a symbol of your commitment." Yzak just huffed in reply and looked away, immediately leading Waltfeld to smirk a little as the boy confirmed that said scar was not that, so he then went on to add, "Or, since you turned your head away, maybe it's a symbol of…your humiliation?"

"Why don't you just tell us where the Legged Ship is," Yzak lightly demanded, dodging the question completely, yet not knowing that in doing so, he had already confirmed what the commander had suggested.

Waltfeld just turned away and walked a bit closer to where the machines known as the Duel and the Buster were standing so that he could get a closer look at the two, and while they both looked mostly the same since the last time he saw them, Waltfeld could not help but note how the Duel now seemed to be sporting a second assault shroud in addition to the first one that was reported to have been added to it before its last engagement with the Strike and the _Archangel_. Not only that, but the dark blue mobile suit was also sporting a new addition to its paint job as well in the form of a large, white skull on the front of its torso, which led Waltfeld to give a slightly raised eyebrow in curiosity for a minute before he finally answered the silver haired boy's question.

"Currently, it's at a resistance base approximately 180 kilometers southeast of here," Waltfeld stated before he cast a small glance in the two's direction. "We sent a reconnaissance drone. You want to see the pictures?"

While Dearka just looked at the Desert Tiger in confusion, Yzak's eyes had instantly narrowed in irritation, because it had taken him no time at all to realize that Waltfeld was mocking him, no doubt for his attitude. He could understand why Waltfeld would do that, but it did nothing to temper his growing anger, as he was certain that the Desert Tiger could not possibly imagine the humiliation and injustice that he had been dealt up until now. He would make sure to change that soon enough though, right after he had delivered his justice onto the Strike, the _Archangel_ , and the Patriot.

"Yep," Waltfeld muttered, gaining both boys' full attention once again. "I see they're the same type as that other one, but at the same time, they're also nothing compared to the Patriot."

"And speaking of the Alliance's mobile suits, Commander, what information can you give us about your engagement with them," Dearka asked in response to this observation.

Waltfeld just looked at the two for a minute before he finally shrugged and admitted, "Well…we did as well as the Le Creuset Team."

Admittedly, a part of Waltfeld actually wanted to reveal that the Strike pilot was a Coordinator to the two boys, but given that both boys had family on the PLANT Supreme Council, he had a feeling that the two would vehemently deny such things before going to the council with this knowledge, which would eventually lead to something less than appealing happening to him, so he kept the information to himself. There was no way that Waltfeld was going to get mixed up in a political nightmare like that right now. Still, he had to wonder if there was another reason as to why the fact Kira was a Coordinator was kept being covered up, because he had a strong hunch that it was not just because of that fact alone. He was quickly brought out of his musings when he realized that Dearka was trying to ask him something else.

"Commander, I asked if you could confirm the rumors we've been hearing about your first engagement with the Legged Ship," Dearka repeated.

"What rumors are you referring to, exactly," Waltfeld asked.

"The ones that say that Captain America actually managed to bring down a number of BaCUEs on his own without any weapons or a mobile suit," Dearka clarified.

"Are you seriously still on that," Yzak groaned, irritably. "I've told you that it was obviously exaggerated. For the tenth time, there's no way someone could take down a mobile suit without special equipment or a mobile armor at bare minimum!"

"Well that is technically true," Waltfeld stated, gaining the two's attention once again before an argument could ensue. "No _normal_ person could do such a thing without meeting those conditions, but I can assure you, Captain America is not a normal person, because he did do just that. Aside from the whole 'no weapons' thing that is. He did have a weapon on him: his vibranium shield."

Yzak and Dearka both fell silent at this news, for very different reasons, until Yzak just huffed and said, "Doesn't matter. I'll still make sure he faces the judgment that awaits him for all that he's done to our friends and allies. None of those bastards are going to escape their punishment."

Waltfeld watched as Yzak stormed off to his machine once again so that he could make sure that it was secured for the operation, until he turned to Dearka and asked, "What's his problem?"

Dearka just sighed and said, "He's got it in his head that he's going to be the next Frank Castle or something. You know; that guy from the Twenty First Century who everyone called the Punisher?"

Waltfeld nodded in reply to this before casting a worried glance at the silver haired kid, knowing that his attitude was likely going to get Yzak into trouble. He may not believe everything that history had said about the Twenty First Century heroes and villains, but he did know enough to know that Frank Castle was not really someone that a good soldier should want to be inspired by. Really, the only person from that era that would count as a worse role model would have been that nutcase in red and black who probably would have been considered as nothing more than comic relief if it were not for the fact that he was such a deadly and unpredictable person. He could not quite remember the name of said psycho right off the top of his head, but at the moment it did not matter, as he knew that there were more important things to deal with, so he calmly looked back to Dearka and asked, "Can I count on you to reign him in if he gets out of hand?"

"Of course, sir," Dearka immediately replied, as it already seemed like it was his job to keep Yzak from going nuts as it was anyway. Though frankly, with all of Yzak's talk about punishing those who he thought had wronged him or others in his point of view lately, Dearka had to admit that he was wondering just how good a job he had been doing with that lately.

* * *

While Waltfeld was welcoming Dearka and Yzak to his unit, the _Archangel_ and Desert Dawn were all preparing to head out to the site of their next battlefield, and what would hopefully be the ship's final battlefield against Waltfeld, and while the ship was en route, Steve decided to take the time to run the Howling Commandos through their assignments for the upcoming battle. While in most cases, it was not all that different from their usual duties up until now, there was still a great need to run everyone through the parameters for their parts in the upcoming battle. Looking around to see that everyone on his new team were gathered along with Logan, Halberton, and Flay, Steve decided to commence with the final briefing as quickly as possible.

"Alright, I know that you're all probably tired of hearing everything at this point, but we still need to go over everything one last time, but more importantly, I'll want you all to confirm your assignments just so I know that you have a full understanding of them as well," Steve informed everyone. "Now then, first off, Kira and I will be deploying in the Strike and the Patriot, while Mu flies support in Sky Grasper I."

"I'll have the Launcher Striker pack mounted on the Sky Grasper while the Sword Striker is mounted on Sky Grasper II," Mu picked up from there. "The simple explanation being because it'll be quicker for me to change planes than it will be to change equipment, and if necessary, it will also allow us to have a plane ready for this kind of battle in case we decide to send out a second pilot."

After Steve had nodded in confirmation of this, Kira took the opportunity to go from there. "I'll be launching with the Aile Striker pack equipped since I need as much mobility as possible out in the desert, and that equipment provides that to the Strike more than any of the packs, and if I understand correctly, you'll be heading out with the Strike's spare beam rifle equipped to the Patriot, right Cap?"

"That's correct, soldier," Steve confirmed. "If it were possible to effectively use it at this time, I would use the Flag Saber in the field, but unfortunately, we still haven't discovered a way to make it so that it is just as effective in the atmosphere as it is in space." He then paused for a moment before turning to the others and continuing with his briefing. "Kuzzey, you'll be in your usual position on the bridge, but in addition to that, you'll also be listening out for enemy comm. traffic as well as ensuring that any calls or orders that are given out amongst our group do not meet any interference."

"Understood," Kuzzey nodded, silently thanking whatever higher power it was that kept him from having to go further out onto the front lines of the battlefield than he already did with this assignment.

Miriallia took this opportunity to ready the sniper rifle that she had been looking over as she stated her position in the operation. "I'll be up on the ship's upper deck keeping my eyes on everyone and everything in the battlefield," the naturally talented sharpshooter stated.

"That's right, Miriallia," Steve nodded with a smile. "You'll also need to call out patterns and strafes as you see them, and if you have a chance to disable any enemy units in any way at all, you are to take that shot at the earliest possible moment. The ammunition you'll be using is actually designed to be able to take out specific points on a mobile suit such as main cameras, thrusters, or certain weapons, so that shouldn't be too much of a problem for you, especially if you've been studying up on the information we have regarding the enemy's machines."

Miriallia nodded in confirmation of this, before allowing Sai to take the lead in the conversation next. "I'll be at my usual station on the bridge as well, while also doing my best to disable the enemy's machines through whatever hacking attempts open up to me. Although, I'm still not sure how that will be possible, seeing as I'd have to interface directly with the machines to be able to do anything to them."

Steve could understand Sai's confusion on the matter, so he looked to Miriallia and asked her to show everyone a specific device. At first glance, it looked like a large dart of some kind with an antenna, but it quickly became clear what it was when Steve explained, "What you're all looking at are wireless transmitter beacons that will only activate after making contact with any kind of machine. Miriallia will be responsible for firing these Tech Darts onto any unit that you will specify for her, Sai, and once the signal is activated, you should be able to interface directly with an enemy machine's computers. Don't try to do anything to risky like triggering a self-destruct mechanism or just initiating a forced shut down though, as it would not be all that effective and would likely take too long for you to engage without the enemy noticing your presence in their system, so you're to focus on disabling weapons or maneuvering capabilities, or any other system that would slow the enemy down when taken offline."

Sai nodded in understanding at this, having his question completely answered now, and Steve then looked to Tolle so that he could explain his part in the operation. "Under normal circumstances, we would have you in the field as well, Tolle, but when considering that you don't have any method of effectively dodging a mobile suit at this time, and the fact that you're the only one capable of acting as the ship's co-pilot, you'll be needed on the bridge as well."

"Understood sir, and I think you'll be happy to know that I've actually taken the liberty of modifying some of the Sky Grasper's weapons with a few new tricks," Tolle saluted.

"Oh yeah, like what," Mu asked, truly curious about this.

"A special payload of missiles that will cause much more of an effect upon impact, and which are also capable of being more precise than the typical missiles," Tolle explained. "It took me a while, but I think I can safely say that you'll be able to take down a small group of BaCUEs with just one of these types of missiles if you aim just right. Just be careful though; I was only able to finish a limited number of them, and you definitely don't want any of our allies getting caught up in the blast by accident."

"Good work, soldier," Steve smiled in approval. He then turned to the redhead girl in the room so that he could complete the briefing. "Allster, you'll need to cover Miriallia's usual position on the bridge for this battle, so we'll be expecting you to watch out for each of our forces just like she does in a combat situation, is that understood?"

"Yes sir," Flay replied, scowling a little even as she did, not that anyone would have noticed without looking right at her or being skilled enough to spot the smallest things in a person's expression. To be honest, Flay was glad that she was not one of the Howling Commandos, but at the same time, she would not deny that she was glad to get a bit of the medical training that Steve had recommended for her. It all meant that she would be able to help out a bit more in making sure everyone made it through, but she was not stupid enough to not realize that it was Steve's way of making sure she did not stir up any more trouble than she already had that first night at the Desert Dawn camp. Sure, she was fully briefed on the duties of each bridge crew position that her friends held just for this purpose, but part of her had to wonder why Steve had her preparing for this at all when most of her training was now focused on providing medical aid.

Seeing that everyone understood their parts in the upcoming mission, Steve went on to add a few final instructions. "There's no doubt in my mind that Commander Waltfeld will be taking part in this next battle, and that he'll likely be using a specialized machine instead of the ones that the rest of his troops use. At that point, Kira and I will likely be forced to engage him directly, but that doesn't mean that you all shouldn't help out in whatever way you can, even though I doubt that any of you will get that much of a chance all that often. When we do engage Waltfeld, Logan will be assuming command of the Commandos, so I'll be expecting you to follow his lead just as you would my own." With his final instructions given, Steve only paused for a few minutes before he gave some last words before bringing the meeting to a close. "I know that we've all had to endure a lot in the time we've spent serving aboard this ship in one way or another, but if this operation works, we'll be that much closer to the end of our journey on this vessel, and in all likelihood, closer to the end of this war as well, for by the end of this battle, Z.A.F.T. will be driven out of the area, and we'll have cleared ourselves a path to Alaska. More importantly though, this battle's outcome will also show the world just what the new Howling Commandos are made of. Whether that turns out to be a good or bad thing, I honestly couldn't care, because I believe that there couldn't have been a better group for the jobs than the one here before me. So let's go out there, and bring down the Desert Tiger!"

Cap's final speech was met with an up-roaring cheer from everyone in the room, and with everything having been said that needed to be said, Steve dismissed everyone to their posts before moving to join Kira and Mu in the ship's Mess Hall for one last meal before they boarded they suited up for the upcoming battle. After getting their meals though, one look in Kira's direction immediately told Steve that the boy did not seem to have much of an appetite at the moment, and the reason was more than likely because his thoughts were still on both the eccentric Z.A.F.T. commander they had met the other day and the things he had said to them. Steve really could not blame Kira for this, because if he were in Kira's place, he would likely have been dealing with the same problem, but Steve was a veteran soldier who had been fighting since the Forties, and he knew that this would just end up causing Kira problems, but not as much as not having eaten enough before a battle would.

"You really should try to eat as much of that as possible before we get to the mission site, Kira," Steve advised the young man, instantly getting Kira's attention. "If you don't eat, then you won't have any strength for the battle. I understand that you're having a hard time thinking about such things after what happened in Banadia, but you should still try to eat."

Kira just nodded in understanding to Steve, and he soon found his eyes widening along with Steve's when Mu suddenly slipped a familiar kabob onto their plates. The two then turned to see that Mu was also enjoying his own kabob with a wide smile on his face as he commented, "Believe me, nothing beats fresh local eats." The blonde commander then grabbed a nearby bottle and held it out to Kira as he said, "Here, try this. It tastes great with yogurt sauce."

Kira and Steve were both immediately overcome with a sense of déjà vu when they heard that, and when Mu raised an eyebrow in confusion after seeing as such, Kira slowly explained, "The Tiger said the same thing."

"You don't say? That man knows his food," Mu admitted. He then just ate in silence for a few minutes before he figured he might as well give the younger pilot a few words of wisdom. "I tell ya, it's a lot easier when you don't know your enemy personally, so just forget him. When you're fighting for your life against an opponent you know personally, it's just that much harder to face him."

Kira would not deny that Mu was right about that, considering his situation with Athrun, but it certainly did not make him feel any better about any of this. Whether that was against what Mu had intended or not, Kira could not really say, but it did not hide the fact that Kira was now even more worried about the next time he would see Athrun out there on the battlefield. He was stirred from his thoughts once again when Logan suddenly said, "If you ask me, that depends on how you know the enemy. In my case, I knew Sabertooth long before we were enemies, and that just served as all the more reason for me to hate him, or if you look into the case of Steve and Stark during that whole Civil War mess, it just left a much more bitter taste in our mouths because we knew we had no choice if we wanted to do what we wanted to do."

Steve appreciated what Logan was trying to do, but he was pretty sure that it was not helping all that much, especially if one were to judge by Kira's expression. In addition to that, Steve's memories of the Civil War event were not all that pleasant, considering he had been forced to fight a number of his friends who had once been willing to give their lives to have his back and that of the others who sided with him in that argument, and witnessing what was once a great community of people who risked their lives to defend others being split down the middle like that did not help matters at all. Steve was about to say something on the matter when an explosion caught everyone's attention.

Their food quickly forgotten, the three pilots and Logan immediately sprinted out of the Mess Hall and into the locker rooms so that they could change into their combat attire and equipment. Since he was already wearing his usual uniform aside from his helmet, Steve was quick to head for the intercom and call the bridge so that he could ask what had happened. _"The enemy detonated the land mines with a barrage of attacks,"_ Natarle explained. _"They had likely been expecting us to use that tactic again and picked up on the heat signatures that the mines were giving off so that they could target them and set them off."_

"Damn it," Logan growled as he zipped up his old X-Men suit. Steve considered the fact that Logan kept the old black and silver outfit to be a very pleasant surprise, as it showed that some things never really went out of date for some people, and it also served as just another piece of the past that they could still keep in the present with them. Logan had not usually struck most people as the sentimental type of person, but Steve knew that there were some things that even the legendary Wolverine felt had some sort of sentimental value, and that old suit was definitely one of those things.

Steve was stirred from his thoughts when Mu looked to him and the others and said, "I'd really hate to say it, but I don't think we can rely on the fighting strength of those guerillas."

"Don't count them out just yet, Bub," Logan argued. "They've been in tough spots before, and even if they do suffer some losses, I'm positive they'll pull through."

The other three nodded in acceptance of Logan's words, and then prepared to assume their stations in the battle that they were about to charge into. Before he had walked out the door though, Steve found himself stopped when Kira called out to him, clearly with showing that he wanted to ask about something that had been bothering him for a while. "Do you know what exactly a berserker is," Kira asked.

Steve knew in an instant why Kira was asking about that, seeing as Waltfeld had stated that Kira seemed to have the capabilities of a berserker when they met with him the other day, and he knew that Kira would probably not be able to focus as well if such thoughts were bothering him, even though the answer would probably upset him more. Still, Steve found he could not hide the answer from Kira, so he simply replied, "A berserker is a mythological warrior who goes crazy with rage when in battle, kind of like how Logan sometimes did in the past during some of his battles. They're normally gentle and well-behaved, but when they went into battle, they turned into completely different people."

Kira's mind immediately went back to some of his most recent battles, and how accurate that description was to his abilities when the battles had reached a certain point, but Steve quickly pulled Kira from that line of thought by saying, "In all honesty, I think such a thing would be an accurate description of guys like Logan or the Hulk, but I doubt that it would really apply to you, Kira. You don't exactly have the capability to become crazy with battle rage."

Kira smiled in thanks to Steve for those last few words, and then strapped his own helmet on as he joined Steve in racing to the hangar so that they could board their machines and launch into the action along with the rest of their friends and allies. A few minutes later, everyone from both the Desert Dawn and the _Archangel_ were in their respective positions for the battle, and they were all rushing out to meet the BaCUEs and ships that were barreling towards them, head on. Mere minutes after they had launched, Mu, Kira, and Cap were all quickly doing everything they could to attack the BaCUEs and helicopters that were swarming around them and their allies, and once they had dealt with their initial targets, Mu quickly fell back to keep the _Archangel_ safe from any that had gotten through their first line of defense.

Mu's defense of the ship was made much easier since Miriallia was sitting on the ship's upper deck firing a few rounds from a sniper rifle every chance she had, leading the helicopters to find either their weapons or rotors disabled in a single shot from her, and leaving them vulnerable to the Sky Grasper's finishing attack. She then turned her attention to a squadron of BaCUEs that were currently surrounding the Patriot and the Strike, and prepared to fire a few disabling shots on the dog-like mobile suits, only to pause when Sai suddenly shouted through her personal comm. device that each of the Howling Commandos now had. _"Mir, don't worry about the BaCUEs just yet,"_ Sai told his friend. _"They can handle themselves for the moment. In the mean time, do you think you can hit one of the mobile suits that are standing on top of the enemy ships with a Tech Dart? The red ones with the large cannons on their shoulders?"_

Miriallia turned her attention to the enemy ships, and then looked through her scope for a few minutes until she spotted the mobile suits that Sai was referring to, instantly recognizing them as ZuOOTs. After doing a quick analysis of the machines through her scope, Miriallia tapped her comm. device and replied, "They're a pretty long ways off from here, but I think I should be able to."

 _"Just hit one for each ship, and I'll handle the rest,"_ Sai told the girl, to which Miriallia replied in confirmation before setting up her rifle to take the shot.

Once she had her rifle lined up and a Tech Dart loaded, Miriallia closed her eyes for a minute and began running through what Captain America had told her in her head for a minute. _Okay Mir, remember: breathe in…breathe out…pick your target…adjust for the distance and wind…and wait for the just the right moment._ After running through the same mantra a few more times, the last two times with her eyes open and intently focused on the red mobile suits with large guns, Miriallia fired her rifle, and the Tech Dart she had loaded into the weapon sailed through the air before impacting the machine with a light clink that no one would have noticed even if they were trying to listen for it. "Shot's been fired," Miriallia called over her comm. "Can you confirm if it hit, Sai?"

 _"Confirmed,"_ Sai replied. _"Just give me a few minutes and I'll let you know when you can fire on the next one."_

"Roger that," Miriallia replied, and she then turned attention back to the helicopters and BaCUEs that were plaguing the rest of the battlefield before firing a few rounds with her regular ammunition. After a taking out the main cameras and weapons on a few BaCUEs and disabling a few more helicopters, Miriallia received word from Sai that he was finished with his work, and she looked to the machine she had previously fired at just in time to see its shoulder cannons misfire and hit a few of its allies before they exploded completely. Smiling at Sai's handiwork for a minute, Miriallia quickly turned to fire another Tech Dart at one of the red machines on the other ships so that Sai could repeat the process.

Once the two had finished what they were doing, Miriallia looked to where Logan currently was and saw him tear through another BaCUE with his adamantium claws before she turned to gaze around the rest of the battlefield. In all honesty, it seemed like it was a pretty even battle for both sides, but something about this did not sit well with Miriallia. She had gone over a lot of the Intel that they had on Waltfeld's tactics with the rest of her friends in the time leading up to this fight, and after looking over all of that, she had honestly been expecting a bit more in the way of numbers for Waltfeld's forces. It just made sense that the Desert Tiger would try to overwhelm them with a greater number of fighters and ships, and yet they were only facing two ships and their compliment of mobile suits, which had just attacked them head on after they had destroyed the mine field. Miriallia narrowed her eyes for a minute before she tapped her comm. device again and asked Logan if he had noticed anything strange as well.

 _"Now that you mention it, yeah I did,"_ Logan replied. _"I've had a bad feeling in my gut about this whole thing since they destroyed the mine field. Something's not right here."_

Miriallia nodded in understanding of that and then rang up Kuzzey and asked, "Kuzzey, are you picking up anything from the enemy's communications traffic that would explain this, or anything else that could help us figure out what their end-game is?"

 _"No, nothing yet,"_ Kuzzey replied. _"But I actually wasn't looking for it all that much until I heard you and Logan talking about it."_

 _"Well redouble your efforts, kid, because every second counts out here,"_ Logan growled. His advice came a little too late though, as the _Archangel_ was quickly struck from behind by a barrage of enemy fire.

 _"Another vessel just appeared at six o' clock,"_ Flay shouted over the comm. channels. _"It's another one of theirs!"_

 _"We've walked right into an ambush,"_ Halberton shouted immediately after this, but Miriallia was more focused on making sure she did not fall off the ship from her current position as she turned to see the enemy ship that had come at them from behind as it fired on them.

Kira and Captain America quickly took notice of the enemy ship that had come at their friends from behind as well, but before they could move to assist the _Archangel_ , they found themselves jumping to the side or into the air in order to avoid being hit by a pair of beam blasts. When they landed on the ground again, they quickly spotted what looked like a larger, orange and gold colored BaCUE with additional thrusters on its back and wings, and enlarged antennas, and it did not take long for them to realize the same thing. "Is that the command unit," Kira asked, hoping to verify that Steve was thinking the same thing that he was.

"I'd bet my shield on it, son. That is definitely Waltfeld's machine for this battle. I think I saw it in the ship's database and that it was called the LaGOWE or something along those lines," Steve replied with total confidence, and he quickly brought the Patriot's borrowed beam rifle around to fire a few rounds at the orange colored, four legged machine, which the LaGOWE easily dodged before returning fire with the large cannons that were mounted on its back. Steve did not have enough time to bring his shield around to deflect the blasts, but thankfully, Kira was able to intercept them with the Strike's shield, giving Steve the chance he needed to return fire as best as he could before using the Patriot's shield to block any shots that were fired at Kira so that the younger pilot could fire off a few rounds of his own. This pattern continued for a few more minutes until it became quite clear that they would not be able to hit Waltfeld's machine so easily on their own, along with the fact that it would require all of their focus in order to beat him, just like they had thought it would.

Of course, there was one other thing that became clear to Steve as well after watching how the unit moved and attacked them, something that Kira would not have been able to notice since he was not as experience in battle as Captain America was. "There's no way he could pull off such precise shots while moving that fast at the same time," Steve mused aloud. "That can only mean one thing: he has a co-pilot in that machine."

* * *

Captain America's assumption was indeed correct, as while Waltfeld handled the maneuvering controls as well as those of the LaGOWE's beam saber, Aisha was situated in the front acting as his gunner. In all honesty, Waltfeld would have preferred to not involve Aisha in the battle at all, but the woman he loved simply refused to let him face this alone when she knew that the two of them made an incredible team whenever they fought together, so the Desert Tiger had no choice but to agree to allow her to join him in what would likely be his last battle against the _Archangel_ , Desert Dawn, the Strike, and the Patriot. At the moment though, the two were actually finding themselves enjoying the little face-off that they were having with the two enemy pilots and very impressed with the skills that they were displaying.

"Oh my," Aisha gasped when the Patriot deflected another blast with its shield so that the Strike could return fire. "They _are_ good."

"Told ya," Waltfeld replied a little smugly. "They were even better the other day when their intensities were turned up. You should've seen 'em; unbelievable!"

The emotions in Waltfeld's voice did not go unnoticed by Aisha, seeing as she knew him better than anyone else, and in all honesty, after seeing the two men that had caught her lover's attention in action she really could not blame him for feeling the way he did. "You're taking this rather well," Aisha finally said after a minute. "This is difficult for you, isn't it? I can tell; you're really fond of them."

Waltfeld's silence was all the confirmation that Aisha needed, because he could not deny her words for even the slightest second. In all honesty, it was hard to not be fond or at least amazed with Captain America, but he had never expected Kira to be the kind of person that would grab his attention in the way that the young Coordinator had. The boy was an incredible mystery to Waltfeld in more ways than one, not just because Kira was fighting with the Earth Alliance, but also because he knew ever since he had talked with the two that Kira was someone who did not want to fight unless he felt he had no other choice. It actually made him feel quite sad that someone who appeared to be such a gentle soul like Kira was a mobile suit pilot, but such feelings were not meant for the battlefield, and Waltfeld would not let them cloud his judgment, because there were other reasons why he intended to fight both Cap and Kira in this battle today.

After taking a minute to collect himself while evading the Strike and Patriot's blasts, Waltfeld finally asked, "Do you think they'll surrender?"

Aisha just smirked in an excitement that she knew was matched by Waltfeld's before she hit the trigger on her controls and said, "Not a chance."

The two machines reacted in just the way that the lovers had expected them to, as the Patriot dove to the side while the Strike jumped into the air so that he could try for an aerial assault. It proved to be futile, as even after it also jumped into the air, the LaGOWE was able to dodge the volley of beam fire before it slammed into the blue and white mobile suit with its beam saber, and it then followed up by hitting the side of the Strike's head with one of its legs, sending Kira falling back to the sandy ground bellow them. The Patriot was quick to react in response to this, as it holstered its own rifle before drawing its beam saber and leaping up to try and attack the LaGOWE from behind. Waltfeld quickly fired the LaGOWE's thrusters once again and evaded the energy blade that the Patriot swung at them, allowing the machine to be in the perfect position to hit the Patriot at near, point-blank range.

The Patriot fell from the sky, completely out of control, until Steve managed to right the machine with a quick burst from its thrusters and then had it somersault through the air so that it landed up right on its feet, right alongside the Strike. Kira was glad to see that Steve managed to pull through, but the Strike was running out of power, and he was sure that the same could be said for the Patriot as well, so they would have to end this quickly if they wanted to be able to do anything to help the _Archangel_ , as they had noticed the ship had been wedged into some of the nearby ruins, and was now unable to move. Still, they were more than confident that the others would be able to manage until they got there.

* * *

After they were caught in the ruins, the _Archangel_ crew ended up doing everything they could to fend off the enemy attackers until they could manage to get free, whether it be through firing a barrage of its various different missile types or a barrage of beam blasts from the Valiants and Gottfrieds, but it did nothing to hide the fact that it would only be a matter of time until they were overwhelmed. Natarle was about to order another barrage of Corintoss missiles when Sai suddenly gasped at a readout she just received on her monitor.

"We have confirmation of GAT-X102 Duel and GAT-X103 Buster atop the _Lesseps_ deck," Sai alerted everyone.

Murrue did not want to take the chance of waiting for further confirmation on that, and she quickly turned to Neumann and Tolle as she barked out a new set of orders. "Full thrusters! Ascend now!"

"We're trying, but the ship's still caught on the ruins outside," Neumann reported just before everyone had to brace themselves against something as the ship shook under the force of another explosion.

When the ship's shaking came to another pause, Tolle jumped up from his seat and called out, "Captain, allow me to go outside and get the ship free. I've got some explosives that should get us loose without inflicting too much damage to the ship."

"Are you sure, Crewman Koenig," Murrue asked, honestly hoping that they could avoid such a risky move.

"Yes ma'am, and it's not like we have many other options right now with Kira and Cap busy engaging that enemy unit and Logan helping out the Desert Dawn as best as he can," Tolle argued.

"Why not ask Wolverine to try and cut us free," Natarle asked. She knew that such an option was crazy, to say the least, but if it kept one of those kids from risking their lives like that, then it was worth suggesting.

"There's no way he could cut us free that quickly," Halberton pointed out. "Yes he could do it, given enough time and effort, but there's just too much to be cut through, even with his speed and skills." The admiral then turned to Tolle and said, "If you're going out there, then I'd suggest that you use a grapnel line to keep yourself from being separated from the ship. We don't want you getting stuck outside in the middle of all this."

"Yes sir," Tolle nodded, and he immediately made a break for the elevator so he could head for the hangar, knowing that would be the quickest way off the ship for him to take. As he was going, he noticed Cagalli had somehow gotten aboard the ship and was heading in the same direction as well, but he paid little notice of this as he reached the locker where the grapnel guns were kept in until he heard Murdoch shouting out to her. Turning around, Tolle had to gasp in shock when he saw that Cagalli had climbed into the cockpit of Sky Grasper II.

"We can't afford to leave aircraft in the hangar," Cagalli told Murdoch and Tolle as she finished preparing the plane for takeoff. "I'm taking it out."

"Oh no, you're not," Murdoch protested, but his words were quickly drowned out by the Sky Grasper's engines firing up. "Ah come on! What is it with kids these days? Open the hatch!"

A minute later, the Sky Grasper had blasted out of the ship and into the air, with Murdoch still shouting after Cagalli even after she had left the ship. Tolle just shook his head in disbelief before he grabbed everything else he needed and then fired the grapnel's hook to a secure point on the ship before attaching the other end of the line to his belt and swinging down to where the _Archangel_ 's front leg was stuck. Once he was at a reasonable position for setting a charge, Tolle immediately set to work with planting and prepping said charges in just the right positions so that any damage the ship suffered from the explosion would be cosmetic at worst. He only paused in his work when he heard Flay trying to get his attention.

 _"Tolle, we're receiving reports that Sky Grasper II took off just before you jumped out of the ship! Who the hell is in that thing,"_ the redhead practically shouted.

"Didn't Murdoch tell you guys yet," Tolle groaned before he swung himself around to the next point that he would need to place a charge at. "It's Cagalli flying that thing. She was already in the cockpit and firing its engines before any of us could do anything to stop her."

 _"What did you say,"_ Natarle shouted, angrily.

 _"We don't have time to worry about such things,"_ Halberton interrupted. _"Crewman Koenig, have you managed to finish your work?"_

"I'm finishing the set up of the last charge…now," Tolle replied, getting said charge activated as he said that. "I can return to the ship and set them off whenever you give the word."

 _"Then hurry back! We need to get back into the action,"_ Murrue ordered, and Tolle did just that by swinging back around and pulling himself back aboard the ship. Once he was safely aboard, Tolle pulled out the trigger he had connected his explosives to, and let everyone know that he was prepared to activate the trigger and was now awaiting the go ahead. _"Do it."_

"Setting off detonation…NOW," Tolle shouted just as he pressed down on the detonation device. A minute later, the explosives had blasted apart the ruins and freed the _Archangel_ from its trapped state, allowing the ship to ascend to its original combat position once again, just in time for everyone to see Mu and Cagalli take out the weapons on the enemy vessel that had come at them from behind.

This did not go unnoticed by the two Z.A.F.T. reds that were currently fighting from atop the _Lesseps_ , and seeing their target was now free to fight at full strength again, and that they had another support craft with them, Yzak could feel his anger spiking. The fact that their weapons were proving to be rather ineffective in their current state did nothing to curb his anger, until finally, he shouted, "THAT'S IT! I can't just sit here and do nothing anymore while we get our butts kicked!"

Dearka did not even get the chance to say anything, as his friend had already blasted up into the air and down onto the desert sand bellow before he could, leaving him to fend off the guerillas, _Archangel_ , and Sky Graspers on his own. He found he would not have to watch his friend doing something stupid for long, as he was quickly forced to pay more attention to when Mu's Sky Grasper came flying in to fire the Agni Launcher at him. Thankfully, Dearka managed to survive the blast, and he then tried to retaliate by firing a round of missiles from the launcher pods on the Buster's shoulders, but nearly all of them missed to blue and white fighter planes, except for one that managed to hit one of the wings on Cagalli's plane, sending the blonde crashing down to the sand. It was a shallow victory, but Dearka was willing to take what he could get, and another look in Yzak's direction told him that his silver haired friend was not going to get much better than that.

Yzak had only landed the Duel on the sand for a few minutes before it started slipping and sliding out of his control, much like the Strike and Patriot had in their first battle under gravity, until eventually, he could do nothing but scream as his machine fell onto its back. Yzak tried to get the Duel to stand up again, but before he could, his sensors rang out in warning that one of his Railguns had been taken out, followed by the second one almost a minute later. Looking around at his systems, he quickly found all suspicions of it being a malfunction were proven incorrect, and he only managed to get a glimpse of something metal flashing across his main camera before it went offline as well. A second later, Yzak jumped back in shock as a set of three claws suddenly cut through the armor of his cockpit's door, which should have been next to impossible, and they did not stop until the door was ripped off to reveal a very angry looking Wolverine standing over him with his claws out and ready for action.

Logan just stared at Yzak for a few minutes before he finally snarled, "Consider yourself lucky that I don't usually hurt kids, Bub, but make no mistake, the next time you cross my path, your oversized toy won't be the only thing that gets gutted."

The feral mutant then leapt away and was well out of sight before Yzak could see where he had gone to. When he finally managed to overcome the slight amount of fear that had somehow found its way into him, Yzak's glare returned tenfold before he said, "Believe me, you're going to regret letting me live, Wolverine, because you just made my list."

* * *

Seeing the battle beginning to turn further and further in the _Archangel_ 's favor, Waltfeld found he could not help the scowl he developed in response. That ship was beginning to seem more and more like it was almost indestructible, and the fact that it was quick to deliver a great deal of damage to the _Lesseps_ just after it got free from where it had been ensnared only served to show just how far things had fallen out of his favor. Such worries ended up being enough of a distraction for the LaGOWE to be thrown off balance by the Patriot throwing its shield into them, which allowed the Strike to take out one of its legs with a quick, precise shot.

"They're gonna get us," Aisha shouted in distress. "Be careful!"

"Don't worry; I know," Waltfeld replied, and readied the beam saber once again while Aisha fired a barrage of beam blasts that ultimately served to destroy both the Strike's and Patriot's rifles. Seeing that he had an opening to attack, Waltfeld immediately charged in, just as the Strike had pulled out its own beam saber to meet him in a clash of blades, and the two ended up inflicting further damage to one another with the Strike's Aile pack losing one of its wings while the LaGOWE lost its cannons. A minute later, the Patriot swooped in and used its shield to help throw the LaGOWE over its head before drawing one of its beam sabers in a reverse grip to slash through one of the LaGOWE's wings.

Waltfeld snarled in response and prepared to charge the two again when an explosion from the _Lesseps_ caught everyone's attention, leading them to witness the ship erupting in a number of explosions that would no doubt eventually lead to one that would cause the ship to be destroyed. This served to be the final piece of evidence that Waltfeld needed in order to see that they were not going to win this battle, so he quickly radioed DaCosta in order to rely one last set of orders for the battle. "Send out orders to retreat."

 _"But sir,"_ DaCosta started to argue.

"We have to cut our losses," Waltfeld argued with a casual smile. "Regroup the remaining forces and retreat to Banadia then notify Gibraltar." He then closed the communication before DaCosta could argue any further and turned to Aisha as he said, "You too, Aisha. Get out of here."

Aisha knew exactly what her lover was doing, and was determined to not let him go through with it alone, so she simply looked ahead with a smile as she replied, "I'd sooner lay down my life. Not a chance."

Waltfeld looked to his lover for a minute until he finally chuckled, "So we're both idiots."

"I'm fine with that," Aisha shrugged as she lowered her targeting scope once again.

"Okay…THEN LET'S GET 'EM," Waltfeld shouted, and he charged the LaGOWE forward once again, much to the confusion of Kira and Captain America.

"Don't do it," Kira pleaded as soon as he managed to access an open channel to the LaGOWE. "Please stop this! You've already lost the fight, so just surrender!"

"Waltfeld, you do realize what will happen if you keep going like this, don't you," Steve asked over the same frequency.

"Oh I know full well, Captain America," Waltfeld replied. "Like I said, there are no clear rules for ending a war like this. There's no other way now. I'm not giving up…UNTIL ONE OF US IS DESTROYED!"

"…Fine then. If that's how you want it," Steve accepted, and he immediately holstered the Patriot's beam saber before meeting Waltfeld's charge with his shield forward.

Kira could only watch in shock at how willing Captain America was to keep fighting despite the fact that the battle was clearly over now, barely even registering it when the Strike's power finally ran out. After seeing the Patriot manage to win in the push against the LaGOWE, the point where the guns had previously been cut from suddenly sparked, and Kira could have sworn that he heard Aisha crying out, though whether it was in shock or pain, Kira could not say, as he watched the Patriot give its shield a hard toss in the LaGOWE's direction once again, knocking it off course from another charge at the red and blue machine for a few minutes, until Waltfeld managed to get it back on course again. With no time to think, Kira felt something inside of him explode once again, and he immediately cast the Strike's shield and what was left of the Aile Striker pack aside before swiping out one of the Armor Schneider combat knives it carried as it charge forward into the path.

Since the sudden charge was so unexpected, Steve and Waltfeld could not do anything more than watch as the LaGOWE collided with the Strike, just as it was bringing down the knife into the orange machine's back. When the blade struck its target, Kira allowed the Strike to be thrown off the LaGOWE and into the Patriot, forcing Steve to grab the powerless mobile suit and put everything the Patriot had left into its thrusters as the LaGOWE fell to the ground. Somehow, the two managed to get clear of the blast radius just before Waltfeld and Aisha's machine exploded, but they were still close enough to be blown down into a sand dune from the shockwave.

Looking back at the fires and smoke that were now where his enemy just were, Kira could not help but feel ashamed of his actions as he calmed down once again, until the guilt of killing another person finally overcame him to the point where he could not stop himself from crying out, "It didn't have to end like this!"

"Maybe, but right then, Waltfeld felt it was the only way it could have ended," Steve told Kira, getting a confused look from the younger man. Seeing this on his monitor, Steve went on to explain, "As a soldier, I can sort of understand how Waltfeld had been feeling at the end there. He had been fighting in this war for so long that he was willing to fight to the bitter end, even if it meant that he would only find a peaceful way out through such a defeat. To him, there was probably no greater way to die than by battling a worthy opponent, or in this case, opponents. Don't pity the end of his life, Kira; pity those who are still trapped in all this fighting."

Kira had no words to say in response to Steve's small speech, so he just let what tears he had fall silently as he allowed Steve to guide him back to the _Archangel_ , knowing full well that this was just the end of the first of many more long struggles on Earth.

* * *

A few hours had now passed since the battle had ended, and the _Archangel_ had now long left the battlefield behind after collecting the Sky Graspers, the Patriot, and the Strike. In that time, Steve been brought aside to speak with the _Archangel_ 's commanding officers, Mu, and Halberton on a matter that only they knew about, and they did not say anymore beyond requesting that Kira and his friends on the Howling Commandos report to the hangar. When they arrived, they were asked to stand at attention, and they quickly saw that they were standing before nearly the entire crew save for whoever was necessary for flying the ship at that time, and that each of the ship's officers were decked out in their full uniforms, hats included.

Halberton then stepped up and cleared his throat so that he could make sure that he had everyone's attention before he began a small speech. "We have all faced a great deal of hardships since this ship was first launched, some of us more than others, like myself and Captain Rogers, but in that time, everyone on this ship has shown a great deal of courage and determination in doing their own part to ensure that we survived whatever was thrown our way. This most recent battle proved to be a great victory in our favor because of everyone's efforts, and also serves as the ultimate proof of this fact; for it also showed us five young people have now truly gone from being mere refugees just trying to help a shorthanded ship to being full-fledged soldiers and proud members of this crew."

Halberton paused in his speech for a minute, and cast a small glance to the commanding officers of the _Archangel_ , Steve, and Mu, all of which nodded in reply to his unasked question, and he then continued, "That is why, after full recommendation and agreement from Commander Murrue Ramius, Lieutenant Natarle Badgiruel, Commander Mu La Flaga, and Captain Steven Rogers, I am honored to award these promotions to each of these five young men and women before you now. Congratulations, Ensign Miriallia Haw, Ensign Sai Argyle, Ensign Tolle Koenig, Ensign Kuzzey Buskirk, and Lieutenant Junior Grade Kira Yamato."

Nearly everyone other than Mu, Murrue, Natarle, and Steve were shocked to hear this announcement, but none more so than the five kids who had just been named. Not a single one of them had been expecting anything like this to come about as a result of their training to be the new Howling Commandos, though after thinking about it for a minute, they each realized that it probably should have been a little expected, but the fact that it came so soon was the part that really served as the greatest shock to them. Halberton could not help but smile at their shock and how it soon turned to beaming pride when most of them saluted him in thanks, but his smile was soon replaced with a look of confusion when he saw that Kira was still frozen in shock at the news.

"Is there something wrong, Kira," Halberton asked.

"Uh…no sir," Kira hastily replied. "I'm honored, really, but it's just that…well, I've already been made an ensign a bit more quickly than most people would have been, so I'm not sure I'm ready for such a promotion so soon."

"I understand that son," Halberton nodded. "But your ship's captain, XO, and fellow pilots all agreed that you were more than ready for such a thing, and after seeing you in action on so many occasions, I must be inclined to agree with them. Just try to keep in mind that each of us can still pull rank on you when you're out there."

Kira could not help but chuckle in response to Halberton's small joke at the end there, but once he regained control of himself, he stood at attention with a sharp salute and a smile along with his friends and said, "I won't let any of you down then, sir."

Halberton nodded, and then went on to hand each of the five the badges that would signify their new ranks as the rest of the crew broke out in applause for them, leading everyone to feel that this served as the final sign that they were leaving all the troubles in the desert behind them now.

* * *

 ** _AN: Okay, straight up, please tell me whether or not this served as a good opener for the new Howling Commandos and their first battle in your reviews. I really want to make sure that you all got a good basic idea of what they'll be doing and capable of at this point in time and in the future. Speaking of which, of course I was going to give Kira and his friends a promotion. I mean it just made a lot more sense for them to rise up in the ranks after all that has happened up til now. If you don't like it, then I'm afraid that's your problem._**

 ** _Another thing, yeah, Yzak's started making a few changes to the Duel, and he's really going nuts with this whole "being the new Punisher" thing he's going through, as if it wasn't obvious at this point. And then there's the fact that he's now added Wolverine to his list of guys to be punished. That on its own isn't very smart, considering...well, it's Wolverine. That should speak for itself. And then there's the fact that Yzak's likely going to be adding a lot of people to that list if he keeps going the way he's been going._**

 ** _So I think that covers everything I wanted to talk about this time around, which isn't all that much now that I think about it._**

 ** _AXL999: Well look at this way: we're done with the Desert Tiger arc, and now its out to sea, where we're going to see another new development involving another MARVEL return._**

 ** _AN: Oh yeah, you know that's gonna be awesome, but until then, Onto the Preview!_**

 ** _The_** **Archangel _has finally made it to the Red Sea, and the crew begins their journey across the ocean with a few new additions to their compliment. Though they have left the desert behind and are now able to allow the ocean breeze to cleanse their souls a little, it does not hide that they still have a great distance to go before they reach their final destination. As they travel the glittering waves, they find themselves preparing for battle once more, as enemies rise up from the seas beneath them. Can they survive the onslaught, or will they require the aid of an old storm that has not been seen or heard from in years? Next time on Shield of the Cosmic Era…_ Chapter 10: Storm in the Red-Dyed Sea _. Cut through the choppy waters and witness a thunderous return Gundam and Captain America!_**

 ** _Please read and review, I'll see you next time, and Merry Christmas, Gundam believers!_**


	10. Storm in the Red-Dyed Sea

_**AN: In the immortal words of Stan Lee, face front true believers, because we are back with another round of Captain America's adventures in the Cosmic Era!**_

 _ **AXL999: Good to be back after the holidays for another new chapter in this story, but I can't help but notice you're doing a lot of work with your MARVEL based stories recently.**_

 _ **AN: Well, there's actually a very good explanation for that. You see, this year is packed with hero stuff, the biggest examples being Superman vs Batman: Dawn of Justice and Captain America: Civil War. Tell me you can't have superheroes on the brain with just those titles being out there.**_

 _ **AXL999: Fair enough, but it also looks like you're really focused on Captain America stuff as well.**_

 _ **AN: Well what can I say? I seem to be developing a theme for this year. Don't worry though folks, I'm not going to put any of my other stories on the back-burner too often, and for you Gundam SEED Prime fans, I will get back to Chaos Hunters as soon as I can. I just have all these big superhero based ideas on my mind right now, so I'm hoping that doing some work on them will help me to put some focus back on Chaos Hunters again soon.**_

 _ **Yzak: Yeah, I'm not holding my breath on that.**_

 _ **Deadpool: Why would you want to? I'd like for him to keep going with these kind of stories so that people can get more of their favorite merc with a mou-[gets cut off when** **AXL999** **blasts him with a freeze ray and lyokoMARVELanime uses a large hammer to bash him out of the studio]**_

 _ **Yzak:...All of a sudden I feel a need to keep my mouth shut from this point onwards.**_

 ** _AXL999: Aw, but I had this really cool blaster I wanted to try on him._**

 ** _AN: You know, I can't help but notice just about every spoiler prevention you do seems to involve shooting something at somebody...Oh well. Something to think on later. Enjoy the story everyone!_**

 ** _Neither myself or AXL999 own anything from any of the Gundam or MARVEL franchises or any other franchise mentioned in this story._**

* * *

 **Chapter 10: Storm in the Red-Dyed Sea**

To say that the rest of the _Archangel_ 's journey to the Red Sea since the final battle against the Desert Tiger was uneventful would be putting things very mildly, as the crew found themselves lucky enough to not encounter any further opposition from Z.A.F.T. for the entire time. This allowed Steve to put the new Howling Commandos through more intensive training while having Natarle oversee Flay's training in the medical field, and in addition to that, it also allowed everyone a chance to celebrate their victory over the _Lesseps_ with the Desert Dawn. During that whole time, laughs were had, drinks were shared, and everyone basically just enjoyed themselves, with the exception of Kira, who was still rather upset about how he had to kill someone once again, but that feeling was also coupled with the overwhelming feeling he and his friends had been having since they received their most recent promotions, another thing that everyone made sure to celebrate as well. Of course, not every part of the celebration was spent with laughs, drinks, and food, as at one point, everyone had taken a brief period to honor the lives of the people who had fallen in battle, after which, Sahib informed the _Archangel_ 's commanding officers, Mu, Steve, and Logan that if Z.A.F.T. ever returned to try and retake the mines that they had captured, they would be more than ready to fight back, even if it was to the last man. Such a sentiment was nice to hear, but it still did not change the fact that it also made everyone think about the recent losses of life that they had suffered.

The morning after the celebration, the _Archangel_ crew was more than ready to set sail across the ocean, until they suddenly found themselves being approached by Cagalli, Kisaka, and Logan. The three had decided that they would be leaving Desert Dawn to travel with them, and while everyone was skeptical at first, there was no denying that there would be some benefits to having the three come along. For starters, Kisaka was clearly a capable warrior, and he was more likely to know of more places that the _Archangel_ could stop at to resupply along the way as necessary, and really, the reasons why they would benefit from having Logan along for the ride spoke for themselves. The only real problem anyone had was with the idea of having Cagalli travel with them, because despite the blonde girl's insistence that she could help, the fact was she was still a civilian child, and a teenager at that. Sure Kira and his friends were about the same age as Cagalli, but they had all agreed to enlist in the Earth Forces while Cagalli made it quite clear that she would do no such thing. Still, it was obvious that the young woman who Desert Dawn had nicknamed their Goddess of Victory was willing to go to any lengths to make sure that she was on the _Archangel_ when the ship left the desert, and when Steve pointed out that she was much more capable of flying the second Sky Grasper than anyone else on the ship, Murrue, Natarle, and Halberton decided that it would be better to avoid a major fuss and just allow her to come with them.

After settling the matter on the _Archangel_ 's three newest passengers, Sahib granted the crew one final parting gift in the form of stolen, Z.A.F.T. sonar equipment, and the _Archangel_ set out to begin its journey across the Red Sea and the vast expanse of the Pacific Ocean. When they finally came into viewing range of the Red Sea, everyone was immediately in awe of the welcoming sight, and since she did not think they were likely to encounter much trouble for a while, Murrue decided it would be a good idea to grant any off-duty personnel some time above deck for a while, which proved to be a very welcome idea that everyone made sure to take advantage of the first chance they had. The most primary example at the moment being Miriallia, Tolle, Kuzzey, and a small number of the crewmen and engineers that were currently above deck at that very moment.

"This feels wonderful," Miriallia cried out happily as she allowed the sea breeze to blow through her hair and across her entire being while her unzipped jacket flowed in the wind. It was a sentiment that no one argued with, if the cries of enjoyment were anything to go by, but there was one person in particular that was not really enjoying it as much as everyone else.

"It sure is beautiful, but I'm feeling dizzy," Kuzzey commented.

"Oh yeah, this is the first time you've ever been at sea, isn't it Kuzzey," Tolle suddenly remembered, getting a nod from his friend not a minute later. "Weren't you born in Heliopolis?"

"Yeah, and I thought the desert was scary, but this place really freaks me out," Kuzzey moaned in response. "It gets really deep in some parts, doesn't it?"

"Yeah and there are monsters too," Miriallia smirked in reply, immediately causing the space-born boy to gain a freaked out expression.

Thankfully, Tolle knew what his girlfriend was doing, and was able to Kuzzey's fears to rest when he said, "Oh stop teasing him, Mir."

"Just be glad that if any of you fall in, you won't be so heavily weighed down," Logan called out as he came up from behind the three, getting their attention the minute he had spoken. When he saw their confused expressions, Logan had to give a small smirk as he elaborated, "Hey, having metal bones does have its disadvantages you know, and that's why I don't normally go swimming if I can help it."

Everyone who heard Logan say that could not help but laugh a little in response, but what they did not know was that not everyone was enjoying the calm, peaceful feelings that the vast ocean was giving them at the moment. One of the most primary examples would be among those who were currently on the bridge discussing their plans for what route to take that would be both the quickest and safest for the ship. The main voices in this conversation being Murrue, Kisaka, Natarle, Steve, and Halberton, each of whom were looking at the main monitor as it displayed a map of the various routes that they could take as they talked to one another.

"The Earth Forces have left you in a difficult position," Kisaka commented. "Telling you to get to Alaska, and not even sending you supplies. Although, I'm sure you have enough food and water, but it would be wise to avoid the enemy, if that is possible."

Murrue had to nod in agreement with this, and she could see why Kisaka would suggest the route that he had, but not everyone was in total agreement on the matter. "But sailing out into the middle of the Indian Ocean is an extremely risky plan," Natarle argued. "If something were to happen out there, there would be no place for us to escape."

"But ZAFT doesn't usually seize territory without a strategic reason," Halberton reasoned. "So would I be right to assume that they would have the least presence out in the middle of the ocean?"

"You would," Kisaka nodded in confirmation. "But the rest depends on luck."

"Well given all that this ship has been through up until now, I'd say we have a rather large abundance of that," Steve lightly joked in an attempt to lighten the mood a little. "I'll admit Natarle has a point in saying that it is risky to expose ourselves like that, but no matter what route we take, there will be some risks involved. Then again, everything that is done in a military expedition of any kind has some range of risk to it, so that shouldn't be of too great a surprise. Still, this may be our best option for the moment."

Everyone nodded in agreement with Captain America's sentiment, and they all then turned to get back to their stations. At least they were until Halberton stopped Murrue in her tracks for a minute. "Murrue, why don't you take some time off for yourself," the admiral suggested. "You've been working almost non-stop the entire time we were in the desert, and I think I won't find anyone who would say that you don't need a break right now."

"I appreciate the offer, Admiral, but I'm more than able to continue with my regular duties," Murrue insisted, but anyone who took a glance at her could see that she was fighting a reasonable amount of fatigue, and this did not go unnoticed by Natarle or Steve.

"Captain, I think the admiral does have a point," Natarle quickly agreed.

"Uh, was he saying something to me," Steve asked.

"I was talking to Captain Ramius, Captain Rogers," Natarle corrected, but a minute later, she saw Steve was hiding a small grin. "You were joking, weren't you?"

"Sorry, I couldn't resist," Steve chuckled after a minute, getting smiles from everyone else on the bridge a minute later.

Even Natarle was smiling as she shook her head in exasperation for the First Avenger's joke, until she regained control of herself and looked to her ship's commanding officer and continued, "You have been working quite a bit while we were in the desert, and given the fact that nothing seems to be going on at the moment, no one would blame you for taking some time to relax a bit. It only seems fair that you also get to go above deck along with the rest of the crew while you're able to, and I can take over here until you get back or something happens."

Murrue wanted to argue her XO's reasoning, but when a sudden wave of weariness suddenly hit her, she found that she could not say anything in disagreement, so she ended up just nodding and accepting Natarle's offer to take over for her for the moment so that she could take a little time off. A minute later, Steve offered to escort her off the bridge to wherever she planned on heading with her time off like the gentleman he is, and Murrue could not help but smile in acceptance of said offer before the two departed, each missing the small, knowing smiles that some of the bridge officers had on their faces as they left. Seeing as she was now technically off-duty, Murrue felt the need to unzip her jacket a little bit, and had to breathe a sigh of relief when she had done so, as she would sometimes feel as though she was choking a little with the uniform zipped up all the way like it normally was. Glancing over at her current companion, Murrue soon found herself gazing over Steve without even realizing it.

The main reason for Murrue's staring was that Steve was currently decked out in civilian attire instead of his usual Captain America uniform once again, and since she normally saw him in said uniform, Murrue could not help but stare a little for a few reasons. For starters, it seemed that like his suit, most of Steve's attire consisted of something that had some shade of blue included in it. The only parts of his outfit that were not blue were his pants and shoes, which were tan and black respectively. The other reason was because the shirt he was wearing was rather tight-fitting, so Murrue had a rather good idea of just how ripped Steve was, leading her to wonder just how impressive his body was without the shirt on. When she realized those thoughts were entering her head, Murrue had to give herself a hard, mental shake in order to banish them from her mind, and quickly looked away with a blush on her face. In all honesty, she did not know what was with her lately. Ever since that night they had spent talking with each other before the final battle against the _Lesseps_ , Murrue found her thoughts drifting to the super soldier more and more often, and while she would not deny that Steve was quiet handsome, and more than likely, every girl's dream guy when you added his looks to his kind, gentlemanly attitude and other aspects of his character, she had to remind herself that Steve was a soldier under her command, and even though they were both captains, if not by rank than by title, Murrue was fairly certain that there was some sort of regulation against pursuing such a relationship. Add in the fact that such an idea made her seem like a little girl with a crush on her favorite superhero, and the whole thing made Murrue think it was rather silly to even dream of her relationship with Steve going in that direction. Still, the idea of doing so was quite appealing to her all the same, and she could not help but wonder what Steve would think of such things.

What Murrue did not know, was that Steve was also stealing a few glances at her as well, as he had been going through the same thing since that night. Certainly, Murrue was a very beautiful woman, and her courage and compassion were something to be admired in her, but Steve was just as wary about the idea of pursuing a relationship with Murrue as his fellow captain was. It was not necessarily for all of the same reasons as Murrue, even if some were there, but part of him would not deny that he was wondering why Murrue would even think of someone who was well out of his time as a person of romantic interest. Then again, it did not stop Steve from having a relationship with Sharron Carter, but that was actually another thing that was preventing Steve from considering a romantic relationship. The fact of the matter was that everyone Steve knew from his time, save for Logan and possibly a few other individuals, were long gone now, including his former girlfriend, so naturally he felt he needed time to move on from that before starting a new relationship. If he did otherwise, he would worry that he would only be using Murrue in some sort of rebound thing, so that served as all the more reason for him to banish any thoughts of a romantic relationship with her or anyone for that matter from his mind. Though he would not deny that there was just something about Murrue Ramius that drew him to her, and it was not just because she had an amazing figure that many guys would crave for in a woman.

The two were soon brought out of their respective thoughts once again when the elevator came to a stop, and they quickly left the confines of the transport so that they could make their way to the outside of the ship. When they finally did get to one of the exits to the outer deck of the ship, they found themselves at the back of the ship with an impressive view of the ocean, and it seemed like they had it all to themselves until they heard someone say, "Didn't expect to see you two out here."

Murrue jumped a little at the suddenness of the person's voice before she and Steve both turned to see Cagalli and Kira sitting against the wall by the door as they also looked out at the spectacular ocean view, the latter with his jacket sitting off to his side. Kira was about to stand and salute when he realized who had joined them out on the deck, only for Murrue to lightly wave him off and say, "Relax Kira. Neither of us are on duty at the moment, so there's no need for formalities."

Kira nodded in acceptance of this and relaxed his posture a little before turning to gaze out at the sea. Silence filled the air for a few moments afterwards, as each of the four took a few moments to enjoy a sense of calm that none of them could remember feeling in a long time, until Cagalli finally spoke up again, directing her attention to the only person there that was the same age as her. "You know, you're a pretty strange guy, Kira," Cagalli said. "I mean, you're not strange in a bad way, or anything like that, but I just can't figure you out. I just wonder sometimes why on Earth you're a Coordinator in the first place."

"What," Kira softly gasped as he and the others all turned their attention to the blonde.

"Oh…that didn't come out right," Cagalli groaned. "I mean, why are you fighting for the Earth Forces if you're a Coordinator?"

"You probably think that's strange; I get that a lot," Kira mused in complete honesty, as his mind wandered back to some of his past encounters with Athrun, and people like Garcia or Waltfeld.

"Whether or not people think you're strange isn't the point," Cagalli elaborated. "We're at war because Coordinators and Naturals are determined to exterminate each other no matter what the cost. I mean, don't you have strong feelings about that?"

Kira honestly did not know what to say in response to that, as he did not ever really think about something like that before now, at least not at an in-depth level, but he did know that his answer was rather simple. Before he said anything though, he had to know one thing first. "What about you," Kira asked Cagalli.

"My feelings towards someone have nothing to do with their being a Coordinator or a Natural," Cagalli immediately replied.

"Same here," Kira smiled in reply.

"But I also think that when someone attacks you in a war that you have no choice but to fight back," Cagalli quickly added.

"I know," Kira sighed in admittance, and when Cagalli shot him a small look for his response, he found that he could not help but chuckle a little in response.

"You know, I honestly find the whole reason for this war to be rather stupid," Steve then said as he cut into the conversation. "Sure there are some subtle, genetic differences between the two, but when you get down to the most basic things, I can't help but feel that there's really no difference between the Coordinators and everyone else."

"Maybe, but Coordinators can do so much more stuff than we can," Cagalli pointed out. "They're talented in so many different ways from birth."

"Only if we sharpen our skills by practicing, studying, and training properly," Kira corrected. "Like Naturals, we're born with potential; we're not gifted just because we're Coordinators."

"Much like how many people were back in the Twenty First Century," Steve stated. "If someone was able to sharpen their skills with practice and study, then they could have the potential to do a lot of good in the world, whether it be as an average citizen or one of the many men and women who became one of the world's heroes. Do you think that Iron Man was able to handle his suit as well as he could right from day one of its completion, or that the X-Men were always such an efficient team? No, they all had to practice, train, and improve with each passing day before they could even get to the point where they were ready for field work in saving lives. Even Spider-Man wasn't able to be as great as he was right from the start. I remember him telling me the first time he got his powers he accidentally crushed a doorknob and unintentionally got stuck to a shower curtain."

The other three had to laugh a little when they heard that, as Cagalli said, "Well then, I guess there really is no difference between anyone, whether it's the relation between Coordinators and Naturals, or really anything at all, huh?"

Kira and Steve both nodded in response before Kira went on to add on to what he was saying before. "It is true that Coordinators don't catch deadly diseases, and that we had our genes altered before we were born to enhance our physical and mental abilities, but I thought everyone aspired to that, even Naturals, and that's why we exist."

"Yeah, you're right," Cagalli nodded in admittance, since there really was not any arguing with what Kira said.

"So, why the war," Kira then asked in reply.

No one was sure what to say to that, as after hearing all of that, they really found no answer. At least until, Steve spoke up with his own idea on it. "I suppose that it's because some people are either afraid of something about the opposing side, or because they simply can't open their minds enough to agree on something involved in the disagreement," the super soldier commented. "In the case of the former, I'd say the closest association that I can think of is the matter of mutants and humans, as normal humans were always afraid of the idea that mutants possessed incredible powers from birth that could likely have the potential to bring great destruction in some form or another, and mutants were afraid that the normal humans would eventually destroy them all out of fear and lack of desire to really understand them. That's what really led to people like Magneto being created. When it comes to the latter though, I have to admit, I'm a bit guilty of indulging in that when what everyone knows as the Superhero Civil War broke out."

"At the time, everyone was of two different opinions in regards to the Superhuman Registration Act, and no one was willing to listen to the arguments that either side was making if they were on opposing sides. Honestly, I sometimes feel that some of the people who joined me in the resistance of that act were only with us because Captain America was saying that it was wrong, but looking back, I can kind of see where the pro-registration side was coming from. They simply wanted to do what was right by the people of the world, since so many of them were now getting to be just as scared of heroes as they were of the villains, but at the same time, there was a strong risk to it as well, since it would put the people that we cared about at risk from being hurt by people such as the Kingpin or HYDRA, and those are just two examples."

"So what do you think the best solution to all this would be," Murrue asked, speaking up for the first time in this conversation.

"The best solution would be getting both sides to sit down and talk for a minute so that they can air their respective grievances, but that's something that would only happen in a perfect world," Steve immediately replied. "The worst case scenario, the fighting will only continue until it reaches the point where both sides are using everything they have to eradicate each other completely, even at the risk of their own troops, followers, and even civilians. In essence, they would be winning everything but the argument, and unless someone were to step up and say stop, it will eventually lead to the point where there will be nothing left to fight for."

Silence once again fell over the four, as the other three found themselves with a great deal to think about after hearing what Steve said. The words alone left a lot to think about, but the fact that he had said them with such passion indicated that he had experienced that sort of thing once before, and it did not take much to realize at what point it was that he had experienced it. It was not really a secret that Captain America had surrendered himself to the authorities near the end of the Civil War between the heroes, but they could tell that Steve knew what would have happened if they had kept on fighting, and if the war between Earth and the PLANTs really was anything like what Steve was describing then they were honestly afraid of what the future would eventually hold for them.

All their thoughts on these worries quickly evaporated when an irritatingly familiar voice suddenly rang out, and they all turned to see Flay coming out to join them, and mere minutes later, she was openly flirting with Kira once again. At first, the other three were scowling a bit at the two, until Steve and Murrue both noticed that Kira was actually trying to separate himself from the redhead as gently as he could without hurting her feelings. Cagalli had clearly missed this, as she was already standing up and preparing to leave, but she soon stopped when Steve's voice cut in on the girl's attempt at getting some alone time with Kira. "Crewman Allster, I believe that the last time I checked, you were currently on-duty for the moment, and furthermore, you are also supposed to be continuing your medical training with the ship's doctor at this time," Steve told the redhead in a stern voice.

"Oh, well I was, but I thought that Kira would be able to help me a little better so I came looking for him," Flay tried to brush off.

Steve was not going to hear any of that though, and he immediately replied, "Somehow I doubt Lieutenant Yamato is all that better of a medical trainer, considering his specialty at the moment is mobile suit piloting and the tech field. Now unless you want to be reprimanded for breaking schedule and fraternization with a superior officer, along with having to run laps around this ship for an entire day, I suggest you return to your duties. You can join your friends when you are actually off-duty and not a minute earlier, is that understood?"

Flay was about to argue, but when she saw the stern look that Steve was throwing her, she found that she could not say anything, and she quickly disappeared back into the ship with a slightly discouraged face. The minute she was gone and out of earshot, Kira breathed a sigh of relief and said, "Thanks Steve."

"Don't mention it, son, but is everything okay between you two at the moment, because I was not all that serious about fraternization within the ranks," Steve asked.

Kira looked between the other three and where Flay had disappeared to a minute ago before he finally sighed and revealed, "I'm just not all that sure about Flay lately. I mean, I do like her and all, I won't deny that, but things between us have been a little…rocky, I guess."

"What do you mean," Murrue asked.

"Well, lately I've gotten the sense that she's being a little clingy, at least in regards to me, and I know that she's had to suffer a lot in this war and all, but shouldn't she have moved past all that by now? If she's still dealing with the problems she's had to suffer up until now then that can't really be all that healthy, right," Kira asked.

"I don't know about that," Steve said. "Everyone grieves over a loss at their own pace, but you are correct in saying that her rate of recovery is something to be concerned about, along with her recent attitude."

"It's not just that though," Kira quickly added. "Lately, I can't help but look back at some of the times I've hung out with Flay and feel like she wasn't being all that honest in her intentions lately. In all honesty, I'd rather not be saying stuff like this, but given what's happened up until now, and after looking back on it, I can't help but feel like she's using me or something, like she's just playing me along for some sick, twisted purpose or something. I know it's pretty disgusting for me to think that way at all."

"I wouldn't be so sure of that," Murrue argued. "Flay has been through a great deal lately, and we've never really addressed some of the issues she's been dealing with since she saw her father's ship be destroyed before her eyes, but given how well she has performed when the situation calls for it, I doubt that anyone's really thought to do so. I'll admit we're somewhat guilty of doing the same with you Kira. You perform so admirably in battle whenever you pilot the Strike, that I can't help forgetting that underneath all that skill of yours, you are still just a child, and I'm sorry for that."

"There's no need to apologize, Captain," Kira quickly said. "I don't blame you for thinking that way. Sometimes I surprise myself with the things I do out there when I'm in the Strike. In the case of Flay though, I just feel like there's something she's not being completely honest with me about, and every time I try to really talk with her about something, she usually just tries to make me forget about it by…trying to make out with me."

"Okay, TMI," Cagalli stated.

"What? It's not like it works or anything," Kira quickly defended. "Most of the time, I end up brushing her attempts off and just leaving, but at the same time, I can't help finding out things about Flay that I don't really like knowing."

"If that is the case, maybe you should consider calling things off with her," Murrue suggested.

"Believe me, I know, but I don't want to hurt her anymore than she's already been hurt," Kira argued.

"Kira, I doubt I need to remind you about how long I've been around, but I'll still say it's more than long enough to be able to say that someone is going to get hurt here no matter what, the only difference is how much the person will get hurt, and that's determined by how long this goes on for," Steve immediately told the young man. When Kira hung his head a little, Steve had to smile a bit and say, "You know, Kira, you actually remind me a lot of an old friend of mine from the Twenty First Century. He had a strong heart and was always willing to go out of his way for others whenever he put on his suit, but despite how much he would joke and seem to make light of a situation, I could tell that doing so was his way of coping with all of the hardships and chaos that he dealt with in his life, and with the fact that he felt like every decision he made affected how he carried the world on his shoulders."

"Sounds like quite the guy," Kira commented. "But why did he do all that if it bothered him so much."

"I know a lot of people who have asked him a similar question to that many times before, and every time they did, he would always give the same answer. That someone had once told him with great power comes great responsibility, and he felt that if he ever looked the other way whenever he could help, then he would be ignoring the responsibility that his powers came with. A few times in the past, I personally spoke with the police officers, firemen, and people he had rescued in the past, and they all said the same thing: that no matter how much people disliked him or how often he was called a menace, he never hesitated to throw himself into the fire, literally and metaphorically, if it meant he could do something to help out. Even if it was the smallest things, like visiting children in a hospital, he would not hesitate to help someone however he could. Sometimes though, he had trouble remembering that he had people who could help him when he really needs it, but at the end of the day, he was always able to rest a little easier knowing that he had done the right thing, even if he messed something up or his efforts ended up costing him in some personal way."

Everyone was a bit awestruck when they heard all of that, and they found they could not really say anything in response all of to that. Whoever this person was, it seemed like Steve held a great deal of respect for him, and anyone who could hold that much of Captain America's respect had to be someone that was really incredible. When she finally found her voice again, Cagalli had to ask, "What was this guy's name?"

"Well, even in the present day, the world never did know his real name, so I'd rather not say it since it's not my place to say," Steve replied. "But it didn't matter who he was underneath the mask, because to the world, he was simply known all around as your friendly neighborhood Spider-Man."

Everyone smiled a little more after hearing that, and they all then turned back to looking out at the peaceful seas, feeling a bit better about their respective problems for the moment. Even so, they did still feel a little nervous of what was still to come, and there was no doubt in any of their minds that Z.A.F.T. was going to let them off so easily even if they were at sea now.

* * *

No one really knew how right the four were to think that they were not out of the woods just yet, for at that very moment, a Z.A.F.T. submarine carrier was cruising along beneath the sea as its captain was receiving orders from a familiar, masked commander. _"I was quite shocked to learn about Commander Waltfeld's death, and I feel partly responsible, as I should've never allowed the Legged Ship to land on Earth. His death is a tremendous loss,"_ the recording of Rau Le Creuset stated. _"In short time, I shall arrive on Earth for Operation: Spitbreak. This Legged Ship and its crew are formidable adversaries, and the fact that Captain America is among their ranks makes them all the more dangerous, so I trust that I will be able to count on your capable assistance when the time comes Commander Morassim."_

Said commander banged his fist against the controls of the monitor, cutting the recording off before it could go any further, feeling that he could no longer take anymore of Le Creuset's crap at that point. "That punk, Le Creuset," Marco Morassim snarled. "That man's got serious nerve sending me a condescending message like that, but it really doesn't matter. I'll go along with his plan, but I'll be the one who fells this so-called Legged Ship and the supposedly returned Captain America."

Morassim then stood up from where he had been sitting and immediately headed out to the hangar bay as he began to give out orders. "Listen up! Intel reports that the Legged Ship was last headed over the Indian Ocean on a course for Alaska, and that puts them right along our path. I'll be leading a small DINN squadron to determine its exact location, and the minute we find the ship, we'll be sending out a GoohN team to finish them off. They may have survived the desert, but there's no way they'll be able to fight off a unit that specializes in undersea combat."

Minutes later, the submarine crew and pilots were all scrambling to their stations before Morassim and his wingman for the initial phase of the plan launched from the sub and into the air above them, certain that they were about to make quite the catch when they finally sunk the Legged Ship and its mobile suits as they did. Before Morassim could board his machine, one of his subordinates ran up to him and shouted, "Commander, we detected a strange, energy pulse coming from a nearby island a few minutes ago. We're still working to identify what it is and whether or not it's from our forces or the enemy's."

"It doesn't matter right now," Morassim brushed off. "Unless it has anything to do with the Legged Ship, all other matters are to take secondary priority."

"Yes sir," the soldier saluted in reply, and he then moved to return to his previous station as his commander climbed aboard his DINN, ready for action.

* * *

Back on the bridge of the _Archangel_ , some of the senior members of the crew were having a hard time reading the sonar's readouts, much to Miriallia and Sai's amusement, and Logan's slight disappointment, but he knew that it was probably better that they were working these difficulties out now instead of later when they really needed it. Seeing as they still had some peace in the midst of the action, Logan took a chance to walk over to Miriallia's station and ask the Howling Commando sharpshooter, "So, have you been keeping up with the maintenance of your rifle and your shooting skill?"

"Yeah, pretty much, but…" Miriallia started to say, but she quickly cut herself off and looked away as though she were trying to hide something from Logan. Not that it would actually work.

"Come on kid, if there's something bothering you then you need to let us know, especially if it might affect your performance," Logan encouraged her.

Miriallia hesitated for another minute before she finally sighed and said, "It's just…it's silly to be honest. There's something about using a rifle that feels uncomfortable to me. It's not for the reasons that Kira would probably give you like that it makes me feel like I'm planning to kill someone needlessly or anything like that, it's more like a sense that it just doesn't feel right. Does that make any sense?"

"A little bit actually," Logan admitted. "You see, a lot of times when I've heard someone say that, it usually means that they prefer a tool that really connects with them or something. It's kinda like how Steve prefers his shield over a suit of Stark's armor, or how Barton would prefer his bow over a regular gun. If it really bothers you that much, we should probably look into getting you a rifle that feels right to you."

"I wouldn't worry too much. I can still do my job as the Commandos' sharpshooter with my current rifle, and like I said, it's just a silly feeling," Miriallia assured Logan.

Logan nodded in acceptance of that and was about to move on to something else when Kuzzey suddenly called out to everyone, "There's something on the radar, and I don't think this is another civilian aircraft!"

Logan and Chandra were immediately racing up to where Kuzzey was seated to get a better look at Kuzzey's readouts, and they were quick to confirm that what the boy had picked up was definitely moving too fast to be civilian vessels. That was all Natarle needed to hear before she turned to Halberton and exchanged a small nod as she ordered, "All hands, Level Two battle stations! ID those radar blips on the double!"

"Haw, Koenig, grab your gear and get on the upper deck! We may need some long range fire power and heavy ordinance if those are what I think they are, and someone tell Crewman Allster to get her ass up here to cover Miriallia's station!" Logan shouted, and Tolle and Miriallia both immediately nodded in response before jumping up to leave the bridge and grab their Commando gear, Miriallia's being her rifle and other sniper equipment, and Tolle's being a bazooka and other similar ordinance, while the feral mutant jumped into Tolle's seat at the copilot position.

* * *

Kira, Cagalli, and Murrue were actually just listening to Steve telling them about the SHIELD Helicarrier when they all heard the alert to report to battle stations sound out, immediately bringing an end to story time. "So much for Z.A.F.T. not being out here," Murrue moaned as she zipped her jacket back up and made for the bridge.

"Kira, let's get to our machines on the double," Steve ordered as he followed after Murrue with the two kids right behind him. "Cagalli, report to the bridge. There might be something you can do up there to help, otherwise, head for the medical bay."

"Wait, why not let me launch in Sky Grasper II," Cagalli demanded.

"It's still being repaired after the last battle it was in, so it's not ready to fly yet," Steve replied, getting Cagalli to curse under her breath the minute she heard that before she split off from the super soldier and Coordinator duo. "Kira, you may end up having to go in the water, so if that is the case, be ready to use the bazooka that we got with our supplies from the Eighth Fleet and dive underwater."

"But the Strike isn't meant for underwater combat," Kira protested.

"It also wasn't meant for combat under gravity, and you managed to pull that off," Steve pointed out with a confident smirk, and Kira found that he could not help but return it as they ran into the locker room and began changing into their usual combat suits, with La Flaga joining them a minute later. As soon as the three were suited up, they immediately boarded their respective machines to await further orders.

They did not have to wait long, as Sai was able to identify the blips as Z.A.F.T. DINNs the minute that Murrue had arrived on the bridge and reclaimed her seat in the Captain's chair from Natarle. Knowing that Z.A.F.T. sending machines their way meant they would soon be facing another battle soon, Murrue did not hesitate to elevate their alert status to Level One. "La Flaga, Yamato, and Rogers, proceed to the launching area," Murrue then commanded.

"But Captain, the Strike and the Patriot are not," Natarle started to protest.

"Cannot fly in the Earth's atmosphere and they can't swim," Murrue interrupted, knowing what Natarle was going to say before the XO could finish saying it. "I know, but we've got to do something."

Natarle could not argue with Murrue's point even she wanted to, but that did not mean that she had to like that fact. Still, there was no denying that they would be much worse off if they were to keep their pilots from taking action to defend the ship, so she simply swallowed her dislike of the order and turned her attention back to command of the ship's other defenses.

"Haw, Koenig, if you've got a shot on the enemy DINNs, don't hesitate to take it unless you have even the slightest worry that you might hit one of our guys," Logan then added on to said orders. "Buskirk, keep an eye on that radar, because there's still a chance that the enemy might come up from bellow us as long as we're above water." Once Logan had finished giving said orders, he had to snarl a little to himself over the fact that he was not able to do anything to help this time around, as someone like Wolverine was not really going to be all that much help in a battle at sea.

* * *

Down in the hangar, Mu's Sky Grasper had just finished being outfitted with the Launcher Striker pack and was quickly moved to the catapult when the crew heard Murrue's orders in regards to the pilots. As soon as he felt the plane jolt to a stop in its launch position, Mu did not have to wait long before he heard Flay say, _"Your course is clear, Commander La Flaga. Go ahead and take off."_

"Roger that. La Flaga, taking off," Mu reported, and seconds later, Mu was blasting down the catapult and into the air, ready for battle, just as a pair of DINNs was forced back by a barrage of missiles and gun fire from the ship, giving him the perfect chance to fire his guns at one of them.

Mu's shots failed to hit their target, but it was enough to drive some the DINNs' attention off of the ship and onto him, giving Miriallia the chance to fire a shot from her rifle straight into one of the thrusters on the machine's back. When the shot hit, it disabled the flying mobile suit long enough for Mu to knock it out of the air with a shot from the beam cannon on his plane, and the DINN was soon falling into the water below. When another DINN tried to strike Mu from behind, the Patriot came to the rescue by throwing it's shield straight into the enemy machine, throwing it off balance long enough for it to follow up by firing a few shots from its borrowed beam rifle, which easily hit their marks. As he retrieved the Patriot's shield on its return trip, Steve could not help feeling as though things were going too easy, and it was at that very moment that he was forced to have the Patriot grab hold of something as the _Archangel_ suddenly started to rise up from the water and into the air once again.

"Bridge, what's going on," Captain America shouted.

 _"We've picked up a pair of submarine mobile suits heading for our location, and were forced to get airborne before we were hit,"_ Sai replied an instant later.

Steve immediately cursed under his breath as he moved the Patriot to stand on top of the _Archangel_ while Kira fired his own rifle at the submersible enemies bellow the ship, only to have very little success in hitting them. "Tolle, get down to a lower point on the ship with a bazooka and do what you can to take out the enemies that are underwater. Kira, grab the bazooka that's meant for the Strike and take the fight to those same enemies."

 _"Are you nuts, Cap,"_ Murdoch shouted over the comm. _"If he does that, the Strike will…"_

"We know that, but we have to do something and fast," Kira argued in Steve's place. "Please, get the bazooka for me, Mister Murdoch."

Hearing Kira agree with Steve's plan was all that Murdoch needed to hear to know that he was not going to be able to win this argument, and he was quickly readying the bazooka that the two had mentioned for the Strike. As soon as Kira was armed with both the Strike's shield and the bazooka, he immediately leapt from the ship and dived into the ocean, just as Tolle had arrived at the edge of the catapult with his own bazooka, and had secured himself to the ship so that he would not fall off.

"Watch your shots when you fire, Tolle. You don't want to hit Kira by accident," Steve advised the young man that was now on the lower deck with his gun at the ready.

 _"Understood sir,"_ Tolle replied, and a few minutes later, he made his first shot towards the water. After a few tense minutes, Tolle had to breathe a sigh of relief when Kira reported that Tolle's shot had managed to hit one of the underwater enemies, giving Kira the chance to finish it off. That did not mean that things had gotten any easier above water though.

Steve was struggling to keep the Patriot ahead of the enemy fire, but he knew that if he were to dodge any shots carelessly, they would end up hitting the _Archangel_ instead, and with that in mind, he was forced to endure more hits on his mobile suit than he would have liked when he was unable to raise his shield in time. Looking around, Steve could tell that things were not going well for the team, as Miriallia was having a hard time keeping up with firing shots that could hinder the DINNs enough for Mu to be able to have more of a fighting chance, while said Hawk of Endymion was fighting a battle just to make sure that he was able to stay ahead of the enemy fire. Since he had no way of knowing how well Kira was doing at the moment, Steve could not really judge on the matter, but the fact that Tolle was still cautiously firing rockets into the water below, coupled with the fact that the Strike had not resurfaced yet did not really give any encouraging feelings on the matter. When he saw that a stray shot from the enemy was heading for the bridge, Steve did not hesitate to react on instinct and throw the Patriot into the shot's path, causing his machine to take the blow at full force before it came crashing down on top of the ship once again.

* * *

When she saw the Patriot take a hit that was meant for the ship's bridge, Murrue's eyes were quick to widen in horror, and her worry only increased as the Patriot fell back to where it had been originally standing. Hearing Flay report that the Patriot had suffered serious damage from both the blast and the fall did nothing to ease her worries, and even from where she was, it was clear to see that the Patriot was now struggling to stand up straight. At that point, Murrue wanted to jump out of her seat and call out for Steve to pull back before he got himself killed, but she knew that if she did any such thing, it would cause everyone else to worry, as the captain's job was to keep her focus on the wellbeing of the entire crew, not just one person, so she forced herself to remain where she was and keep her mind on the situation around her. She did not like having to sit there and wait for even the slightest sign that Steve was okay though, so she could not stop herself from saying a silent prayer in the hopes that he was alright, and that something would happen that would save them all.

Murrue was quickly drawn out of her prayers though when Kuzzey suddenly called out a new report. "Captain, there's something on the radar that's heading this way really fast," the young ensign shouted.

"Another enemy," Natarle asked.

"Checking," Sai reported, and after a few minutes, he gave the results of his scan. "No ma'am, it's too fast to be a ship or a mobile suit, but it doesn't seem to be a missile either."

"Evade at once, intercept if that's not possible," Murrue shouted.

"Captain, whatever it is, it's not heading towards us," Kuzzey suddenly revealed. "It looks like…it's heading for the enemy."

* * *

Captain America was dazed but otherwise fine after he had taken that hit for the ship, but sadly, it did not seem that the same could be said for the Patriot, as he was now struggling to get it to stand up for the simple reason of being constantly under a rain of enemy fire, and the fact that one of the Patriot's legs seemed to be malfunctioning for some reason was not helping at all. He was extremely grateful that his mobile suit's shield was able to withstand as much as his own shield, but the fact that he was forced to use it to protect himself so much as he tried in vain to shoot any enemies he could down squashed any good feelings that provided, because that just meant he was unable to fight at his best at the moment. It was after he just barely managed to survive another blast from one of the enemy DINNs that Steve finally admitted to himself that it would likely take a miracle for the ship and its crew to survive this battle.

Thankfully, miracles seemed to be quite numerous in the life of Captain America, and one such miracle came just in the nick of time, and it came in the form of what seemed to be a massive lightning bolt that tore through one of the DINNs that was flying above both the Patriot and the _Archangel_. When the lightning did not dissipate and curved in the air, Steve quickly zoomed in on the object and saw that it was not a lightning bolt, but a hammer that was sparking with lightning. A hammer that he had not seen in a long time, and was not expecting to ever see again.

 _"Someone want to tell me what just happened,"_ Mu shouted from his Sky Grasper. _"It looked like a freak lightning bolt just knocked out that DINN."_

 _"That's impossible. There's not a cloud in the sky,"_ Halberton argued.

 _"I wouldn't say that, Bub, especially not when you can hear it plain as day,"_ Logan then said in a tone that was almost happy.

 _"Hear what,"_ Natarle asked.

The _Archangel_ 's XO ended up receiving her answer from Steve, and that answer was just one word. "Thunder."

Sure enough, the distinct sound of thunder was booming through the air as lightning streaked across the sky, causing every airborne fighter to scatter in fear for what would happen if they were hit by one of those bolts, but none of them were prepared for the sight that followed the freak lightning storm. No one, except Steve and Logan. A minute later, another DINN had exploded, and when the smoke cleared, it revealed a figure in dark blue and steel armor, a long red cape, and a silver helmet with wings that covered his blonde hair while leaving his bearded face for all the world to see. The large man held the hammer that Steve had seen just a moment ago in his right hand, which he quickly raised up above him as lightning surged around him from the blunt instrument, while the man shouted, "FOR MIDGARD!"

An instant later, the figure swung his weapon down, and a burst of lightning roared across the sky, tearing through all but one of the remaining DINNs, leaving the survivor to race away at a much slower speed than it normally would have used. Steve only grinned with joy at this sight, and when he saw the Strike finally resurface, albeit without its shield or bazooka, he could honestly say that the day just got a lot better.

* * *

A short while after the battle had ended and all the machines had returned to the ship's hangar, the _Archangel_ 's crew were all standing in the hangar, with some of said crew holding firearms at the ready, as their rescuer, and apparently newest passenger, walked into the hangar towards them. The large, blonde man had all of the girl's staring at him for obvious reasons, and after looking over his surroundings for a minute, he finally spoke up, his words directed at those who were aiming a gun at him as he said, "Lower your weapons, mortals. They will do you no good, and I come as a friend, not an enemy."

Everyone was stunned at both what the man had said and how he had spoken, except for two people who both wore their own expressions of excitement and gratitude as they stepped forward, gaining the blonde's attention as they did. When he saw the two approaching, he immediately beamed and let out a hearty laugh as he grasped hands with Steve and Logan and happily cried out, "Hail mighty Captain America and Logan the Wolverine! It is truly a momentous day to see you both alive and well once again. I am glad to see that Heimdall's all-seeing gaze has not faltered in his growing age, for it brought me great joy to hear that one of my fellow Avengers lives again."

"It's good to see you too, Goldilocks," Logan growled in admittance. "Can't say that I missed your weird way of talkin' though, because it's still weird as hell."

If the blonde was offended by what Wolverine had called him or anything else the former X-Man had said, he either did not show it or simply shrugged it off like it was not the first time he had heard it, and laughed in reply while Steve said, "It really is good to see you, Thor. I was honestly wondering if you were even still around."

"Understandable, Captain, but Asgardians have much longer lifespans than a mortal, even one such as yourself," the now properly identified Thor chuckled in reply. "Though I have now become Asgard's ruler since my father's passing, I have often asked Heimdall to keep me apprised of Midgard's events, and when I heard tale of your return, I simply had to see it for myself."

"You're ruler of Asgard now," Steve exclaimed. "That's pretty impressive, and I'm sorry to hear about the loss of your father."

"Your condolences are appreciated, my friend, but even Odin cannot defeat the great enemy of time itself," Thor nodded in thanks.

"Okay, hang on a minute," Mu finally interrupted. "You're seriously telling us that this is Thor? As in the same Thor who you worked with in the Avengers?"

"That's impossible," Natarle argued. "Anyone from that era aside from Steve and Logan should be long dead by now. No one could live for that long."

"No mortal of Midgard, perhaps, dear lady, but I am not of your world. I am Asgardian," Thor replied with a small smile. He then moved to stand before the entire _Archangel_ crew and offered a small bow as he said, "That being said, I thank thee, crew of the _Archangel_ for reviving my old friend to his former self."

"Wait, you know who we are," Kira asked.

"Indeed, Son of Yamato," Thor nodded, throwing Kira a little off with how he had addressed the young Coordinator. "Heimdall's gaze is not considered all-seeing simply for show. He did not inform me of everything about you all, but he had informed me of all that I would need to know."

"And just what do you know about us," Murrue asked.

"I know that you wish to travel to your Forces of Earth's base in Alaska, and that you are pursued by a powerful enemy, while your fighting strength consists of Captain America, Kira Son of Yamato, and Flaga of La. Though you have also come to bring about a new age of the Howling Commandos, you are still limited in what you can do, and as such, I would like to offer you my aid."

"Can you even do that, ya know, since you're now the head honcho of Asgard and all," Logan asked.

"I can. Lady Sif and Balder the Brave watch over Asgard in my stead, so I am able to help you all as much as I can, but bear in mind, that it will not be forever, and that I must return to Asgard whenever I can to ensure that nothing has befallen my home," Thor assured everyone.

Hearing this gave the _Archangel_ 's commanders reason to move off to the side and discuss the matter. "Well, what do you think," Mu asked. "I mean sure, he talks a little weird, but he did save us just now, so if he wants to keep helping, why not let him."

No one missed how Mu grumbled a little at being called "Flaga of La" a minute later, but it did not distract them from the matter at hand. "I really must protest against this," Natarle argued. "Even if this man isn't insane, he is clearly a civilian and a foreign leader. We can't allow someone like that to have free reign of the ship, and we certainly can't ask him to fight our battles for us."

"I'm sure that this man is the same Thor that fought with the Avengers years ago," Halberton argued. "After all, Steve certainly believes it to be true, and after seeing what he did to those DINNs, it would be unwise to refuse his offer to help us."

Murrue let these points run through her mind for a minute, even as everyone continued to argue, until she finally reached a decision and made her way back over to the gathered heroes. "If you are honest in providing us your support, we would gladly accept your help, Thor," Murrue stated with a smile.

Thor nodded in acceptance of this and said, "Then by Odin's beard, you shall have the might of Thor and Mjolnir assist you in your journey Murrue Ramius of the _Archangel_. I believe that we shall all find ourselves facing grand adventures like those I had when I was among the Avengers."

"Thor, you don't know the half of it," Steve chuckled in good nature, and a minute later, everyone was soon crowding around the two to ask Thor a number of questions in regards to himself, his time with the Avengers, Asgard, and whatever else came to their minds when they remembered the stories about the Twenty First Century heroes. When no one was paying attention, Steve managed to slip out and over to Murrue and the other ship commanders so that they could make their way to the bridge, and the _Archangel_ 's captain could not help but smile a little both at the fact that Steve had made it out in one piece and that he was so happy to be reunited with another old friend.

After watching his fellow former Avenger depart with the others, and noticing how close Steve seemed to be to Murrue Ramius as they walked out, Thor took a moment from the barrage of questions to quietly ask Logan, "Tell me, is Friend Rogers hoping to court Murrue Ramius?"

Logan looked on after the two for a minute, having seen the same thing that Thor saw, before he finally just shrugged and gave a response that was rather typical of him. "Don't know, don't care. I ain't getting involved either way."

* * *

 ** _AN: Well, that's done, and ladies and gentlemen, we've now witnessed the return of the now King of thunder, the Asgardian Avenger, the Mighty Thor!_**

 ** _[Thunder storm erupts as Thor appears before the camera]_**

 ** _Thor: FOR ASGARD! [raises hammer and unleashes an amazing burst of lightning for show]_**

 ** _AN: Okay, okay, thank you, we get it. Be honest, how many you were thinking that Thor wouldn't show up until you saw the preview for last chapter?_**

 ** _AXL999: To be fair, we weren't entirely sure about including Thor in this story at first, partially because neither of us were entirely sure about the exact length of a typical Asgardian's life-span, but it was a little hard to argue that having Thor in this would be a big thing._**

 ** _AN: Plus there's also the added bonus of the fact that the way he addresses some people would be funny too. In case your wondering, Thor's appearance is basically the one people recognize best, and I'm hoping to kind of mix some of the aspects of his character from the MARVEL cinematic universe with the comic book one, so don't expect him to talk in such an extravagant tone so much like he does in the comics and some other media._**

 ** _AXL999: I had to laugh a little when I read the part where Thor called Mu "Flaga of La"_**

 ** _AN: Hehe, yeah that was good. And on a side note, looks like the relationship between Steve and Murrue is slowly growing stronger by the day, so you guys know that it's likely going to be a matter of time before they finally act on those feelings. Until then though, the two might be facing some teasing remarks in regards to said relationship._**

 ** _Captain America: Why do we need to deal with that?_**

 ** _AN: Because no one is exempt from such things, no matter what position they hold in a group. Now with all that fun stuff said and done, Onto the Preview!..._**

 ** _The addition of the Asgardian hero has significantly raised the crew's spirits and morale, and it soon becomes apparent just how much his might is needed when they find themselves in battle once again. When the smoke clears though, they discover that Cagalli has gone missing, none of them realizing that she has crash landed into the midst of a fateful encounter that could change the course of the fiery blonde girl's life as she knows it. Who knew that such a tiny island could hold such tremendous value for two people who are supposed to be enemies? Next time on Shield of the Cosmic Era…_** **Chapter 11: Another Encounter** ** _. Brave the storms that await you Gundam and Captain America!_**

 ** _Please read and review, and I'll see you next time, Gundam believers!_**


	11. Another Encounter

_**AN: Hey everyone, after about three long months, lyokoMARVELanime...**_

 _ **AXL999: And AXL999 are back for another installment of...**_

 _ **Yzak: They know damn well what this is, you two, so just cut to the chase already and let them read the chapter!**_

 _ **AN: [hits control]**_

 _ **Yzak: [suddenly finds himself in the crosshairs of the Batwing and the Batmobile from Batman Vs. Superman: Dawn of Justice] Oh crap. I had to open my big mouth. [like you really need to be told what happens next?...okay, fine. He gets blasted by both vehicles and sent flying. Happy?]**_

 _ **AXL999: Well, I know it's not my fault this took so long to update.**_

 _ **AN: Hey, don't look at me like that, I've got another stories to work on too, you know. Some examples being Gundam War Online, Gundam SEED Prime: Chaos Hunters, Avenging Normandy, Justice Marvel and...well actually, that's pretty much it in terms of stories that I had just recently updated, but there are still quite a lot of different stories.**_

 _ **Deadpool: Well, at least most of those titles have something to do with us MARVELs. Not that I can blame you for going that route, I mean, really, who wants to see any of those other things like guys with giant key-shaped swords, or giant robots fighting each other. Things are only cool if they've got us guys from MARVEL in it, and they only get cooler, when I'm around.**_

 _ **AN: Oh please tell me this is not happening. Tell me this is a bad dream. I don't care what you tell me, just please tell me that even after so many different author's notes in various different stories without him showing up, Deadpool has still not reappeared here!**_

 _ **AXL999: Okay, Deadpool hasn't shown up here.**_

 _ **AN: Really?**_

 _ **AXL999: Sorry, but no.**_

 _ **AN:...Not cool, man, but luckily, I know the perfect cure. [hits control again]**_

 _ **Deadpool: Oh no. Please tell me that you're not going to have me get eaten by another Thresher Maw!**_

 _ **AN: Okay. I'm not going to have you get eaten by another Thresher Maw. I'm going to feed you to the mother of all Thresher Maws.**_

 _ **Deadpool: Oh, okay, I was worried for a second th...WAIT A MINUTE! [Starts running for his life as said Thresher Maw chases him while he screams like a little, baby girl] HEY! I AM NOT SCREAMING LIKE THAT! I'M GIVING A MANLY SCREAM! [Gets blasted with a laser from space for trying to tell the author how to write these action note...things...I don't really know how to describe them to be honest, but he gets blasted all the same for trying to go against them]**_

 _ **AN: Well, hopefully that will solve the Deadpool problem for a little while longer.**_

 _ **AXL999: And if it doesn't?**_

 _ **AN: Well, we can always try feeding him to Galactus or Thanos, but I'd rather not place Earth at risk. Even this studio has limits.**_

 _ **AXL999: Fair enough. So, assuming nothing else happens, shall we get going with the long-awaited new chapter?**_

 _ **AN: Yes, yes we shall.**_

 ** _Neither myself or AXL999 own anything from any of the Gundam or MARVEL franchises or any other franchise mentioned in this story._**

* * *

 **Chapter 11: Another Encounter**

Despite things livening up a little on the ship after Thor's arrival, there was no way to hide the tension that had no gripped everyone aboard the _Archangel_ after the previous battle. The fact that Z.A.F.T. had attacked them when they were so far out at sea was rather worrying for everyone, and when one added in the fact that they had barely managed to survive the battle until Thor's arrival, the chances of someone not being more than a little worried were so low that they practically went underground. Of course the big question was how Z.A.F.T. had managed to get them while they were so far out from any points where they held a solid base of any kind, and it was a question that everyone was trying to figure out. Many of the theories were rather far-fetched, but the one repeating theory that anyone had was really the only one that made the most sense.

"A submarine carrier," Natarle inquired as she and Mu made their way through the halls of the ship to the officers' lounge.

Mu nodded with a hum in reply as he explained, "No matter how you slice it, those suits couldn't have come from Carpentaria or any base seeing as we're so far out at sea at the moment. We're on the move ourselves, so if they came all the way out here to attack us, they couldn't make it back."

"And if it were a surface ship or aircraft then we wouldn't have overlooked it. Since we're not used to dealing with enemies that come from underwater, they managed to catch us completely by surprise with that first assault," Natarle finished. "If we don't deal with them in our next encounter, then they'll likely follow us all the way to Alaska, and that's not likely to end well for us."

Mu could tell that the ship's SIC was worried, as a few signs managed to slip through her normally controlled demeanor and outlook, and that was why he did not hesitate to quickly pat her shoulder encouragingly as he said, "Hey cheer up a little. We'll manage somehow; we always do. We should just keep trying to travel over shallow waters, and eventually we'll make it to Alaska."

"And just what basis do you have for such an idea, Commander," Natarle inquired in a tone that showed she knew that the Hawk of Endymion did not have any solid ones.

"Hey relax, it's just a little pep talk, ya know. That plus some good old optimism and hope," Mu easily replied with his usual smile, which was accompanied by him lightly tapping Natarle on the nose as a way of teasing, much to the lieutenant's surprise.

Natarle stared after Mu's retreating form for a minute, a light blush adorning her cheeks until she shook herself back to where she currently was and raced after him, fully intending to reprimand him for harassing a superior officer until she saw that Mu had stopped just outside the entrance to the officers' lounge and was just looking in with a mischievous smile on his face. Before Natarle could ask what he was staring at, Mu quickly gave the silent signal for her to be quiet before pointing into the room, prompting Natarle to come over as quietly as possible so that she could see into the room as well. When she did, she could not help but gain a small, matching smile of her own that Steve and Murrue were sitting in the lounge on their own, clearly talking about something quite animatedly, and if the way Murrue was occasionally laughing in a small way every now and then, one could only assume that the conversation was not really business related.

"You know there's now a betting pool going on as to how soon those to end up getting together," Mu quietly whispered to Natarle.

"Oh really," Natarle asked, her tone disapproving while her face betrayed the smallest signs of amusement that only a well-seasoned pilot like Mu would notice. "And I suppose you've placed your own bet in that pool?"

"Why Lieutenant Natarle Badgiruel, I am appalled that you would think that I would do such a thing," Mu softly exclaimed in a voice that oozed with false-offense.

"So what did you put down," Natarle lightly demanded, showing that she was not going to be deterred by Mu's act.

Mu finally raised his hands in surrender and admitted, "I told them to put me down for ten bucks saying that they get together sometime after we reach Alaska, and before we're given our next big assignment."

"Honestly," Natarle sighed in exasperation. "Mind telling me who started this little pool?"

"Why, do you plan on putting down a bet as well," Mu asked.

"No, I plan to tell them to cancel it since gambling on a warship is against regulations," Natarle immediately retorted.

"And this is why I don't think you're going to get invited to that poker night that Logan said he was planning on starting," Mu easily quipped in response.

Natarle said nothing in response to that, but not just because she did not have an appropriate comeback for it, at least in her opinion. Instead, her eyes quickly returned to the two captains in the room as they continued conversing. A part of her was actually a bit jealous that Murrue was able to gain Steve's attention like that so easily, but the bigger part of her was very happy to see that the two were able to get along so well while simultaneously hoping that they would end up together soon. If anyone really deserved that kind of happiness, it would have to be Steve Rogers, and that was no less true for Murrue Ramius after all that they had each been through. Captain America's reasons for deserving that kind of happiness was obvious, but only someone who had learned as much as they could about Murrue like Natarle did would be able to confirm that the _Archangel_ 's current captain deserved that same kind of happiness as much as Rogers did. While it often seemed like Natarle was always against Murrue and disagreeing with the ship captain's decisions, it was not out of any personal dislike, but rather because she was trying to do her job as second in command and help keep Murrue focused on what needed to be done, despite whatever misgivings or ill feelings that she had. It was clear that Murrue cared a great deal for everyone under her command, and Natarle wanted to make sure that such feelings would not interfere with her decisions in regards to the ship and its crew as a whole should a single crewmember be in danger. Still, Natarle would not deny that Murrue's ability to care for everyone on the ship so much was something she envied about the ship's captain.

After staring at the two for another minute or so, Natarle finally decided that there was not likely to be any harm in dropping at least one or two regulations in regards to this particular situation, and she looked back to Mu and whispered, "Look, whoever's in charge of that betting pool…tell them to put me down for the same amount as you saying that they'll get together after sharing a romantic moment in the hangar bay, following a desperate battle."

"Well, who'd have thought you were such a romantic," Mu teased as he turned to carry out Natarle's request.

"I believe that you have some duties to attend to, Commander," Natarle pointedly retorted in an attempt to cover up the embarrassment she felt at Mu thinking that about her. Not that she was denying it, mind you.

What neither Mu or Natarle knew was that while the two captains' conversation was not really all that serious in general, it did have a very serious topic involved. It had not escaped either of their notice as to how their forces had fared in the previous battle, and it was something that the two had agreed to discuss the first chance they had. They had intended to have that discussion right now, but somehow it had ended up leading to some less serious topics of conversation before they had actually gotten to the center of the matter at hand. Neither of them could really explain how it had happened to be honest, all they knew was that they had a very easy time talking about really just anything that came to mind with each other, be it past missions and assignments, or really just whatever came to mind.

Finally, Steve managed to steer the conversation back on course, much to his slight chagrin, as he was enjoying just talking with Murrue, and he said, "I guess we shouldn't have been too surprised by how things went in the last battle in regards to the Commandos."

Murrue's face had fallen from the small smile she had previously held when Steve said that, and she soon nodded in agreement as she acknowledged Steve's words and said, "To be fair, you and Logan had not really thought that much about how they would fight out at sea, given that the main focus when you started was in helping them to make sure they could fight in the final confrontation with the _Lesseps_. It would only be natural that we would all be a little caught off-guard when a battle like that happened."

Steve had to nod in response before he determined, "It just means that we'll have to change up the training regiment a little for them. Kira's obviously not going to be as much of a necessity since he'll most likely be in the Strike for every battle we have out here, but the others will need some additional training in various forms of firearms at the very least. At the moment, Miriallia and Tolle are the only ones in the Commandos besides Mu who can provide some solid assistance while the others have to put more focus into their regular duties than they did before because of the fact that ocean combat is different from fighting in the desert."

"Maybe, but I don't think you'll have much luck with Kuzzey," Murrue pointed out. "His specialty is communications not fighting, and even if that wasn't the case, he's far too gentle and kind to even put into a sniping position of a battlefield. Sai on the other hand might do well in a combat scenario, but since he specializes in hacking and code-breaking, it would be ideally better for him to stay on the bridge so that he can be ready to hack any enemy's computers like he had during that last battle."

"And then there's the fact that Logan would not be able to help beyond the capacity he had in the last battle," Steve continued on, gaining a look of confusion from Murrue. "Do you really think that he could cut loose without problems while we're still at sea? That adamantium skeleton of his will easily cause him to sink to the bottom of the ocean if he were to end up in the water, and his healing factor can't really help him very much in preventing a loss of oxygen. Maybe if we had an extra mobile suit or something…but I wouldn't be so sure of that."

"Why not have him fly the other Sky Grasper," Murrue suggested. "It would be preferable to having Cagalli fly it."

"True, but Logan hates flying in general. It's why he did not normally pilot the X-Jet back in the day," Steve admitted. He then gave a tired sigh and said, "Looks like we've got our work cut out for us."

"Yes, it certainly does seem that way," Murrue agreed, and when she saw that Steve had a slightly worried look mixed in with the tired one he was currently wearing on his face, she immediately reached over and placed her hand on top of his as a way to reassure him. "We'll get through this, somehow, right?"

Steve smiled as he turned his hand around to grip Murrue's in return and said, "Of course we will. Despite its small size, we've got a talented crew that can make it happen, and a great captain to keep everyone together when things seem bad."

Murrue had to blush a little at that bit of praise, but she still nodded in thanks to Steve all the same, neither of them really paying any mind to the fact that they were still holding hands until they finally pulled apart and found themselves missing the warmth that the other's hand had given them for a moment. They quickly shook such thoughts off though, with neither of them ever realizing that the other was thinking the same thing as they were, and returned to their original line of conversation. The only other thing on their minds as they continued to talk though was the question of just what Z.A.F.T. would throw at them next in an attempt to bring them down.

* * *

Over at the Gibraltar base, Athrun and Nicol had just arrived from Space with their mobile suits along with a number of other Z.A.F.T. troops that were gathering together for the upcoming military offensive known only as Operation: Spitbreak, and they were soon summoned to one of the briefing rooms where Commander Le Creuset and their teammates who had already been on Earth for some time now were waiting for them. They had of course stopped to change out of their pilot suits and into their regular red uniforms before doing so, and finding the briefing room was made a lot easier when they heard the tell-tale signs of Yzak's muffled yelling from just down the hall. When they finally came to the briefing room they were looking for, Athrun quickly tapped the control to let their teammates know that he and Nicol were coming in, and the door soon parted to allow them entry.

Neither of the two were entirely prepared for the sight of Yzak when they entered the room, and so they were naturally a bit shocked when they saw the nasty scar on his face that he had gained after a previous battle with the Legged Ship and the Strike. Another thing that they quickly noticed though, was that their silver-haired friend was now carrying a pair of pistols on either side of his belt, and a couple of different rifles were also clearly sighted on his back, making it seem like Yzak was expecting to have to jump up and start shooting at something at any second now. Neither of the two commented on Yzak's sudden decision to start carrying so many extra weapons now, but Athrun still had to give a small comment in reference to the irritable pilot's scar, much to Yzak's slight disdain. Of course, part of that was probably due to the fact that Yzak had never shown much friendliness towards Athrun or Nicol in the past, but no one other than Yzak himself could be sure of that.

Dearka on the other hand was actually quite happy to see his fellow reds from the Le Creuset Team, and gave them both a small wave and a friendly greeting, which Nicol and Athrun returned with a pleasant nod. Le Creuset must have seen that the two new arrivals were still a bit off-put by Yzak's scar though, because he quickly explained, "The wound has healed, however he has decided to keep the scar as a reminder until he has managed to destroy the Strike and the Patriot."

Athrun's face fell a little when he heard that, a fact that only Nicol seemed to notice, though it was just out of the corner of his eye. By that point, it was no secret that the Legged Ship, the Strike, and the Patriot had been responsible for the defeat and apparent death of the Desert Tiger, and since they heard their teammates were involved in that final operation against the Earth Forces vessel and mobile suits, the two could easily understand that their comrade would be a little irritable. At the same time though, it made Athrun wonder once again about what he would likely end up being forced to do when he met Kira again. He would have to wonder about that later though, as the current briefing took priority at the moment, even if it did not take his mind off the subject.

"The Earth Forces' Legged Ship must be stopped from getting to Alaska with the data it's acquired. However, I'm afraid this mission has already been assigned to the Carpentaria Base," Le Creuset informed the young troops under his command.

"But Commander, that's our job! This is unfinished business for us," Yzak heatedly insisted with a scowl. "We have more right to make the Legged Ship, the Strike, and the Patriot all pay for what they've done to our forces than anyone else, especially after the humiliation that they've dealt to us! I refuse to let anyone else deliver the just punishment that they deserve!"

Dearka somehow managed to suppress an exasperated sigh at Yzak's latest rant in his attempt at showing everyone how he intended to be the new Punisher before he stood up and said, "Even though I wouldn't have put it the same way as Yzak, I do agree that this is unfinished business for our team. We've all been humiliated by those guys now, and more importantly, just about all of us have either clashed against or at least had some kind of encounter Captain America now as well by now."

"Going up against or encountering Captain America a few times doesn't really mean all that much in this argument," Nicol pointed out.

"Perhaps, but that doesn't change the fact that, needless to say, I feel the same as Yzak and Dearka," Le Creuset revealed, gaining all four of the pilots' attention. "I have to prepare for Operation: Spitbreak, so I must remain here, but you feel that strongly about it, why don't you go try it yourselves?"

"Yes sir," Yzak replied eagerly, already getting excited at the fact that he would now be guaranteed another chance to bring down the enemies he had come to hate with such a passion.

"Then we'll form a team consisting of Yzak, Dearka, Athrun, and Nicol, and your commander will be…" Le Creuset had paused at that point and put a hand to his chin, as if he were seriously thinking over the decision as to who among the four would be in charge, until he finally cast a knowing smile in the direction of the one who he wanted to lead the team in his absence. "Athrun, I'm putting you in charge."

Each of the four had different reactions to this decision. Athrun and Nicol had both gasped in wide-eyed shock, while Yzak had quickly begun scowling in the direction of the blue haired boy, clearly unsatisfied with the decision of who would be leading this team. Dearka's reaction was actually somewhere in the middle ground between the two, because while he did not like the idea of having to take orders from Athrun anymore than Yzak did, he could still understand why such a decision made sense, seeing as he had seen how Yzak had been lately. Given Yzak's attitude as of late, it only made sense that his friend was not chosen to lead the team, and while he did not really enjoy the responsibilities of being a team leader himself, he was not opposed to it either. In all honesty though, it made more sense to have Athrun acting as the team's leader since Nicol would likely be too soft to make the tough decisions that were required in such a position, and the blonde had a bit of a reputation for not seeming like he took things all that seriously most of the time, but it still came as a bit of a surprise for Dearka all the same. Even though the three of them had graduated from their class with honors, he was sure it would be quite a while before any of them received their own command.

Athrun's shock was probably the most apparent though, as he could not believe that his commander would entrust him with such a responsibility given that Le Creuset knew about his history with Kira. Then again, it was probably for that reason that the masked soldier had picked Athrun, and that doing so was one of the commander's many tests for him that he was known for giving some of his strongest subordinates. Still, that did not stop him from asking the obvious question when he finally managed to get over his shock a little. "Me, Commander? Are you sure about that?"

Le Creuset did not give any real acknowledgment of an answer to Athrun's question, but instead simply said, "That ship has been a real thorn in our side, and even more so since Captain America joined its ranks. It will not be easy, Athrun. I'll have you assigned to a submarine carrier in Carpentaria as soon as possible, so you should prepare to leave immediately. I'm counting on you. Good luck."

With that, the masked commander departed for another part of the base so he could carry out the duties he had for Operation: Spitbreak's preparations, and for a moment, the four just stood there in silence staring after him even after the door had closed and he disappeared from sight. Eventually, Yzak broke the silence by grumbling about the decision for Athrun to be put in command, while Athrun just clenched his fist a little in irritation for his commander putting him in such a situation. Le Creuset's evasion of his question just proved that his commander was indeed testing his resolve in whether or not he would be able to fight Kira with all of his might, but he could not let himself be swept up with such concerns right now, as his friends were now going to be counting on him to lead them into battle.

Once he had steeled his resolve, Athrun looked to the other three and said, "You heard the commander; whatever you need to do before leaving, get it done and then report to your machines. I'll arrange for transports for us and our machines so that we can get to Carpentaria by the time they have that submarine carrier ready."

"Understood…Commander Zala," Yzak reluctantly saluted before exiting the room in a huff.

Nicol and Dearka both gave a silent acknowledgment of Athrun's orders and then followed after their scarred friend, but before the blonde could leave the room, he found him stopped by his new team leader. Athrun glanced after where Yzak and Nicol had disappeared to before looking to Dearka and asking, "What was the deal with that whole thing Yzak was saying back there, and why is he carrying so many weapons now?"

Dearka knew that this would likely be coming, but he still let out the exasperated sigh he had held back earlier and replied, "It's kind of the same answer for both questions. After I said something as a joke, he decided to actually try and become the 'new Punisher', and now he's doing everything he can to show it."

Athrun nodded in understanding of this, and after making sure that Dearka would be able to help keep Yzak in check if that got out of hand, he let the blonde depart while he processed this new information. In all honesty, Athrun was not that surprised that Yzak was trying to do such a thing. It was actually more due to the extreme that Yzak seemed to be taking it to. He had heard about the new modifications that Yzak had made to the Duel, including the addition of the large skull on the front of its torso, and after seeing and hearing what he had just now, Athrun was a bit worried about just how far Yzak would really take his decision in becoming the next Frank Castle. Athrun eventually shook it off, thinking that it was something that could easily be dealt with at a later date and then departed so that he could settle his own preparations for the team's departure to Carpentaria.

* * *

The next day saw the New Howling Commandos collapsing into their seats in exhaustion after a long, hard day of their newest training regimen, and while they could acknowledge that the new training would undoubtedly prove beneficial in the long run for the rest of the ship's time out at sea, it was rather hard to do so given how tired they all were at this point. Even Kira was glad that they were able to make it through to their lunch break, as part of his training involved going over every single aspect of the Strike's combat abilities in preparation for the next time he had to fight underwater or for if he had to fight in the air, and no one was going to say that they were not jealous of the fact that Thor, Steve, and Logan were barely even sweating after joining the group in that training. Of course, everyone was wondering why Thor had joined them in the first place, seeing as he had been fighting for centuries now, until the Asgardian ruler explained that even the most experience and mightiest warriors needed to train in order to keep their skills sharp in his own unique way.

Since they had been training so hard, everyone had been able to work up quite an appetite, so the minute they had their food, they all quickly dug in with gusto. At one point during his own meal, Kuzzey pointed out that their route could possibly take them past the neutral nation of Orb, and despite the fact that the island nation was a little out of the way, along with the fact that none of them would not be able to leave while they were on this mission, Steve could understand why the young man would want to stop by his homeland, and from some of the looks in the eyes of Kuzzey's friends, it was pretty clear that his feelings were shared, even though they others were all trying their best to stay realistic about the whole thing. Then again, Kuzzey seemed a little more desperate in his hopes for stopping at Orb than the others did.

The talks of stopping at Orb were quickly diverted when Kira came finally came back from taking a lunch to Flay, prompting Miriallia to ask how the redhead was doing. Flay had woken up that morning feeling rather sick, and after Miriallia had been awakened by the redhead's moaning, she was quick to help guide her friend to the ship's doctor so that they could get her checked out. Flay seemed to think that she was suffering from a case of seasickness, but given the fact that no one else was and the ship was not really shaking that much if at all as it traveled, everyone was not so sure about that. When Kira said that Flay was not doing any better, everyone could not help but feel sorry for her, and a little jealous since she was able to get out of her regular training that day.

Not everyone was willing to get wrapped up in thoughts about the sick redhead, as Sai was still a little upset about his recent breakup with Flay, so in an attempt to change the subject, Sai quickly looked over to the ruler of Asgard and asked a question that he had been wondering about for some time now. "So Thor, just how does your hammer really work," Sai inquired, getting everyone's attention the minute he had spoken up. "I mean, that whole worthiness thing is just gimmick right, so there must be some type of trick to it. I'm just wondering if you could tell us."

"There is no trick to wielding Mjolnir, my young friend," Thor insisted as he spun said hammer around in his hand for all to say. Seeing that the bespectacled boy did not seem to buy it, Thor just smirked a little at the opportunity that this was presenting and then spun his hammer around so that he was holding it upside down as he held it out to Sai. "If you truly do not believe it, then by all means, give it a try."

Sai just smirked in response to this and immediately grasped the handle, thinking that it would not be that hard to keep up off the ground when Thor let go. He only realized how wrong that was after the ruler of Asgard had released his hold on the hammer, and he was suddenly pulled down to the deck so fast that it almost seemed like you would have missed it if you blinked. Everyone quickly burst out laughing at the spectacle of it while Sai righted himself and started pulling on the hammer with all his might, even as Logan managed to say, "I guarantee that thing will not move so much as one inch."

Sai just threw the last living X-Man and his friends a look for their lack of support before he put all his focus and strength into trying to lift up the hammer, but like Logan had promised, the hammer did not budge in the slightest. After one last hard pull, Sai finally released his hold on the handle with a heavy release of breath, before looking at the amused looks of the others and saying, "What? I just…didn't have enough leverage. Maybe if it were on the table or something…"

"Alright then, by all means," Thor insisted as he moved the hammer from the floor to the table. Sai just smirked in response to this and grasped the handle of Mjolnir once again, this time getting a few cheers of encouragement from his friends, but it ended up making no difference as Mjolnir did not even slide a little in response to Sai's pulling.

Eventually Sai finally gave up with a shrug of defeat, and upon seeing his friends' amused looks had returned, he immediately said, "Oh yeah? Well let's see you guys do better."

"With pleasure," Tolle accepted as he stood up from his seat next to Miriallia and made his way over to where Sai was standing, with everyone just barely noticing the amused, nostalgic smiles on Steve and Thor's faces.

"Kinda reminds of you of that one party we had at Avengers Tower back in the day, doesn't it," Steve whispered to Thor.

"Aye indeed it does," Thor nodded in agreement with a chuckle, as remembered that day quite well and how similar it seemed to be to what was unfolding right now.

The similarities seemed to continue as Tolle pulled on the hammer with everything thing that he had and everyone cheering him on, until finally, he looked over to Sai and suggested that they try lifting it together. Sai nodded in agreement and then grabbed the handle once again with Tolle grabbing it from the other side, and they both pulled with all of their might, but it did not matter in the end, as the hammer did not move at all. Eventually, Kuzzey decided to try and help out his two friends like the good guy he was, but even with all three of them pulling together, Mjolnir simply refused to move.

Miriallia then decided she would take a shot at lifting the hammer, but before she could stand up, Murrue, Natarle, and Mu all came into the room, having heard the excited cheering from down the hall, and the _Archangel_ captain quickly asked, "What's going on here?"

"Just a little friendly competition," Logan shrugged in reply. "One of the kids wanted to know what the 'trick' to Thor's hammer was, and that ended up becoming a contest to see who could lift the thing."

"You're kidding right," Mu asked as he looked down at the hammer in question. "Are you telling me none of you have been able to pick up this thing so far?"

"To be fair, only three of us have tried at this point," Miriallia quickly defended as she sat down.

"If you think you can do better Flaga of La, by all means," Thor offered.

Mu bristled a little at hearing Thor's butchering of his name again, a fact that was not helped by how everyone seemed to be stifling small laughs in response to it, and immediately marched right up to the hammer as he rolled his arms a little while spitting into his hands and rubbing them together as a way to warm up for it. Before he grabbed the handle of Mjolnir though, he looked over at Thor and asked, "So if I manage to lift this thing then I get to rule Asgard and all that?"

"Yes," Thor nodded with an amused smile, and Steve did not even need to have seen all this before to know that Thor was not being serious in that reply since the Asgardian likely already knew how this was going to go.

Mu paid it no mind as he immediately grabbed the handle, wrapping its strap around his wrist for good measure as he did, while Kira decided to tease his fellow pilot by saying, "You know, you've had a rough time lately Commander, so we won't hold it against you if you can't lift it."

"Quiet! Don't tell me what I can't do, kid," Mu playfully snapped in reply, and with that said, he immediately pulled back with all of his might. When he received the same results as the three before him, he seemed to frown a little, but he did not give up and immediately grasped the handle with both hands before pulling again. In the end though, the hammer did not budge at all, and everyone was immediately throwing him the same amused looks that Sai, Tolle, and Kuzzey had been getting just a minute ago.

"You can just smell the silent judgment," Natarle said in a rare moment of jest, getting a laugh out of everyone in an instant.

"Oh well please, Lieutenant, by all means," Mu challenged with a wave of his hand.

Natarle would normally have not stooped to accept such a childish challenge, but given the many amused looks she was receiving that were practically daring her to accept, she found that she could not help but give in to the peer pressure and immediately stood up to make her way over to the hammer, getting a few mutterings of encouragement and playful concern as she did. Once Mu had sat down in an open seat, Natarle began pulling on the hammer with everything ounce of strength she could muster, but sadly, it did not seem like she would have any more success than those before her. Murrue was quick to stand up and move to assist her second-in-command, much like Kuzzey had when Tolle and Sai were trying to lift Mjolnir together, and soon enough, both of the _Archangel_ 's commanding officers were working together to lift the handle.

Of course, one of them had to wonder just how much so they were working together in lifting the hammer. "You are pulling, right," Natarle asked.

"Hey, we're on the same team, right," Murrue insisted.

"Just making sure, now pull," Natarle replied while giving the ship's captain an order of her own.

"Alright, let's go, on three…one…two…THREE!" The two women then gave it the old heave-ho, but still the hammer did not even budge, much to Logan, Steve, and Thor's laughing amusement. Of course, Steve's laughter quickly died when Murrue shot him a look that clearly said she was not laughing.

"I believe the mortal expression is that he is so whipped," Thor muttered to Logan, immediately gaining an amused snort from the Wolverine in response.

"I heard that," Steve immediately told the two.

"And yet, you're not denying it, Bub," Logan pointed out as the next person to make an attempt at lifting Mjolnir stepped up while Steve just threw a glare at his old friend for his remark.

"Come on Kira! You can do it," Miriallia cheered in encouragement.

"Yeah, you've definitely got this," Tolle agreed as his friend stepped up to the challenge of lifting the hammer.

"Hey if you can handle piloting mobile suits, then this should be a breeze," Sai agreed, and soon after, everyone was chanting Kira's name over and over again as a show of support.

Kira just beamed in response to the show of support that he was receiving, and soon enough, he was grasping Mjolnir's handle and pulling with all of his might same as the others. When the hammer did not move on the initial attempt, it did not even dampen anyone's spirits or beliefs that Kira could do it for a second, but after a few seconds or so, everyone ended up staring in disbelief as the hammer did not even budge anymore for Kira than it had for them. Eventually, Kira finally gave up with a shrug, and Tolle and Mu were both insisting that it was somehow rigged, a sentiment that everyone other than the three heroes of the Twenty First Century silently agreed with.

It was during Miriallia's attempt to lift the hammer that Cagalli and Kisaka walked in to see what was going on as well, and when she heard about what they were attempting to do, Cagalli looked over to her normally silent guardian to see if he would make an attempt, only for him to politely decline when he was given a more vocal offer to try. Cagalli on the other hand did not back down from the challenge for even a second, and thus, she was quick to step up to where the hammer was still sitting, unmoved on the table. A minute after the blonde grasped the handle, she pulled with all of her might, and since his gaze had not left his trusted weapon during any of the attempts for more than a second, Thor's face actually ended up falling into one of disbelief when he saw the hammer actually move a little in response to Cagalli's attempt, much like it had when Steve had first tried during that party they had mentioned earlier. While it was unexpected, the movement was so small that only Thor had seemed to have noticed it, because in the end, Cagalli ended up not being able to lift it at all.

"Nothing," Thor laughed in amusement as he glanced between the hammer and the mysterious girl as noticeably as possible, but he knew that Steve had likely noticed such thing since he had probably noticed just as much as Thor had.

After the blonde had sat down next to Miriallia, Kisaka turned to see if Logan and Steve would take a turn, which both turned down in an instant, with only the latter saying, "I already know the answer to that question."

"Indeed he does, given that Friend Rogers has already shown that he is worthy to lift Mjolnir," Thor nodded in agreement.

"Yeah whatever you say, pal, but I'm not buying it. It's obviously rigged," Mu insisted.

"Yep. Just like I said," Sai nodded in agreement.

"The handle's imprinted," Mu went on to add. "Like with a DNA scanner or something. 'Who-so-ever is carrying Thor's fingerprints' is more than likely the most literal translation if you ask me."

"Yes, well that's a uh…very interesting theory, but I have simpler one," Thor offered as he stood up and walked over to where he had placed his hammer down. He then picked up the mighty weapon and tossed it up like it was nothing more than a ball as a show as he gave light to his simpler theory. "You're all not worthy."

While everyone who had tried felt a little insulted by that, they knew that it was mostly in good humor so they were quick to laugh it off with mild protests on the matter until Steve decided to bring up an old point. "Of course, you did put the hammer down the ship's deck…"

"And the ship's still moving," Logan continued.

"And despite how much it's been through, the _Archangel_ 's not worthy," Steve finished. "And if you put the hammer in an elevator…"

"Elevator still goes up," Mu guessed, with Logan nodding to show that he was correct.

"And the elevator's not worthy," Steve sang.

Thor just laughed off the points as he said, "I have missed these sorts of talks with you, my friends."

The joyful exchange would have continued on for a little longer, but sadly, all good things must come to an end, and this end came in the form of the ship's alarms going off as Admiral Halberton's voice rang out over the intercom. _"All hands, Level One Battle Stations! Repeat, all hands to Level One Battle Stations!"_

The group's laughs instantly died and they were all just as quickly jumping out of their seats to head for their respective positions when the ship was in battle. Murrue and Steve were already set to give out orders to the gathered group as they went, with the ship captain starting off. "Lieutenant Yamato, Commander La Flaga, and Captain Rogers, head for the hangar bay and board your machines at once. Commander, I'll be counting on you to take out the enemy carrier while Kira and Captain America deal with the enemy mobile suits."

The three pilots each nodded in response to this before Steve took his turn for delivering orders. "Ensign Koenig, I'll need you on the lower decks of the ship with every form of weaponry at your disposal for underwater combat. Kira and I will be counting on you to watch our backs the minute we go into the water."

"Wait, the minute 'we' go into the water," Kira asked in confusion. "Cap, shouldn't at least one of us stay above water to help defend the ship from any aerial attacks?"

"That won't be necessary, Kira. I'm leaving that job to Thor," Steve informed him.

"Are you sure that's wise? I know that he's already offered to give us his help, but Thor is still a foreign head of state," Natarle started to argue.

The ship's SIC did not get very far in her argument, as Thor immediately interrupted, "Worry not, Lady Ruel of Badgir. I am more than happy to give whatever assistance you require, and as you've no doubt seen by now, it shall take far more than anything mere mortals possess to defeat an Asgardian. No offense."

Natarle was not sure how to respond to that, as she was more offended by how Thor had now messed up her name, and the fact that Mu was smirking at her over it was not easing that offense at all. "Not one word," Natarle muttered to the Hawk of Endymion.

Steve did not pay it any mind, but instead continued giving out his other orders. "The rest of you are to assume your usual positions on the bridge until either Logan or myself say otherwise."

"Yes sir," everyone immediately nodded in reply, and just in time for the group to split off in the direction of their separate destinations with Cagalli hot on the heels of the team that was heading for the hangar.

"Hey, where do you think you're going, girl," Logan called out.

"We can't just leave the other aircraft in the hangar if it's able to fly, and I can help out," Cagalli pointed out.

Knowing that there was no time to argue, Steve immediately jumped in and said, "Fine, you'll take Sky Grasper II into this battle, but you're to follow Mu's lead in taking out the enemy carrier, is that understood?"

"Yes sir," Cagalli nodded in full confidence before she picked up her pace just enough so that she was now running alongside Kira and Mu.

Steve slowed up a little so that he could give a few last orders to his fellow former Avenger and said, "Thor, you're job's actually going to be two-fold. You're primary objective is the defense of the ship, but I'll also need you to watch Mu and Cagalli's backs while they're out there."

"Aye Captain," Thor nodded in understanding, and he then turned down the hallway that would lead to the closest hatch out onto the upper deck. This signaled that everyone now knew their jobs for this battle, so now all anyone could do was hope and pray that they would make it through without suffering any significant losses.

* * *

A few minutes later when the Sky Graspers had rocketed into the air to take out their target, the Strike and the Patriot were blasting out of the hangar and diving into the water below. Kira had equipped his machine with the Sword Striker pack on the basis that he would be able to use it more effectively underwater than any of the other packs since he would be able to use it like an actual sword if he deactivated the beam, and Cap had decided to follow his younger friend's lead by equipping the Patriot with the Flag Saber once again, hoping that he would be able to use it more effectively in the water, especially since Kira had recently helped him upgrade the Patriot's OS so that it could account for the added weight of the weapon when under gravity. The last thing that the two pilots saw was Thor throwing out a blast of lightning at some of the enemy GOOhns that had surfaced to attempt an attack on the _Archangel_ from below.

As soon as the two's view had replaced the sky and their ship with the vast, blue expanse of the underwater, they immediately armed their respective swords and set to work, and it was a good thing that they had, because as soon as the enemy had registered that Kira and Captain America were down there with them they had immediately begun focusing their efforts on them. Kira made the initial assault on the enemy by holding the Strike's Anti-Ship sword at the ready and then lunging towards one of the GOOhns, evading the torpedoes that it fired at him as he went. Sadly, the GOOhn evaded Kira's strike at just the last second, and despite how quick he was to spin the strike around so that he could fire the Igelstellungs in the Strike's helmet, Kira barely managed to land so much as a scratching blow on the enemy units. When the second GOOhn launched a beam attack at the Strike, the Patriot quickly swooped in and deflected the blast with its shield, allowing Kira to get to cover.

"Man, these guys sure aren't messing around," Kira muttered to himself as he prepared to launch another attack, only to pause when his suit's proximity warning suddenly sounded.

"Kira, on your two o'clock," Captain America shouted, letting Kira know exactly where the attack was coming from, and allowing the young Coordinator to evade the torpedo barrage that nearly nailed him just in the nick of time.

Looking to the source of the most recent barrage, the two were quickly greeted with the sight of a large, sea green machine with a long horn what served as its head, three large claws on its hands, and what appeared to be a massive pair of toes on either foot. Looking over this machine for another minute allowed Steve to identify the enemy unit as a UMF-5 ZnO, Z.A.F.T.'s second mobile suit that had been designed for underwater combat, and since it was the only one in the attacking group, Captain America had to assume that this was likely the command unit for this Z.A.F.T. unit. His musings were quickly cut short once again when he noticed that the other two machines were making a run for the surface again, no doubt intending to strike the _Archangel_ from below, and that quickly led Steve to make his next decision.

"Kira, I've got this guy. You handle the two that are trying to make a hit-and-run on the ship," Captain America called out.

"Roger that," Kira replied, and with that, the Strike was quickly blasting off through the water towards the fleeing GOOhns. Since neither of the two submersible mobile suits saw him coming, Kira was able to down one of them with an easy slash of the Strike's sword, forcing the other one to attempt to use the explosion of the other machine so that he could get away with the Strike already following in pursuit.

Once he saw that Kira had things well in hand, Captain America charged forward once again and swung at the ZnO with the Patriot's Flag Saber. Though his initial strike had missed, he was quick to bring the sword back up for another slash that scored something of a hit on the large-clawed machine. The Patriot then followed up with a hard hit across the ZnO's front with its shield which seemed to disorient the pilot inside long enough for Steve attempt a stabbing maneuver with the Flag Saber, but the ZnO pilot had managed to recover quickly enough to evade Captain America's attack, and then retaliate using energy cannons that were mounted in the palms of its claws. Thankfully, the Patriot was able to raise its shield just in time to block the beam attack, but despite deflecting any serious damage, there was nothing that the shield could do to keep Steve from being rattled by the blast as they managed to push him back and down to the floor of the shallow ocean waters.

The ZnO then charged forward in an attempt to pin the Patriot down, but that turned out to be a mistake, as it never saw the red and blue preparing to move the Flag Saber so that it would be pointed directly at it the when it got close enough. When the ZnO pilot finally realized what the captain was planning, it was already too late to pull back, as Flag Saber suddenly shot forward and straight into the cockpit of the ZnO. Seeing the machine sparking in the way it was easily told Steve what was going to happen next, and he quickly used one of his machine's legs to kick the enemy off of the Patriot and to a reasonable distance so that when the ZnO finally exploded, the Patriot ended up suffering no serious damage. With the enemy unit's commander now dealt with, Captain America was more than ready to go and help Kira with the last of the GOOhns, only for a sudden pair of explosions to tell him that it was not necessary.

While Steve was dealing with the ZnO, Kira had found himself unable to land a solid hit on the last GOOhn until Tolle suddenly called out to him from his position on the _Archangel_ 's lower decks. The demolitions specialist of the new Howling Commandos had quickly informed Kira that he was going to try and drop a special explosive down that would either eliminate the enemy unit or disorient it long enough for Kira to land a finishing blow, and all Tolle needed at that point was a set of coordinates and Kira's signal for him to do so. Tolle did not have to wait long, as a few minutes after Kira had relayed the necessary data to him, he gave the signal for Tolle to proceed, and a minute later, the explosive that Tolle had mentioned dropped into the water and then went off as soon as the GOOhn had gotten close enough to it. While the GOOhn was not destroyed by the explosion, it had been damaged just enough for it to be thrown off balance long enough for Kira to deliver the final blow with the Strike's Anti-Ship in one fell swoop.

Kira could not help panting a little in mild exhaustion once the enemy was finished, and he did not really register that the job underwater was done until the Patriot was right next to him doing everything it could to help him get back up to the surface so that they could board the _Archangel_ again. At least they were planning to do that until they received a transmission from the ship that immediately made Kira's worries return in full force. _"Captain America, Kira, we've lost contact with Cagalli. Are either of you picking up a signal from her,"_ Miriallia asked from her post on the bridge.

Steve and Kira were both quickly checking over their readings as the ascended back to the surface of the water and after they had surfaced, until Steve finally said, "Negative. I'm not picking anything up on any frequency."

"Neither am I," Kira sadly reported after a minute.

 _"Should we list her as MIA, Captain,"_ the two then heard Natarle ask.

 _"What does MIA mean,"_ Sai inquired for Kira and any of his other friends who did not understand the term.

"Officially, it's a designation that stands for Missing in Action, but often times, it means that…" Steve started to explain, but he soon found he did not have the heart to tell the young soldiers.

Thankfully, Logan had no such hang-ups, and was thus able to finish for him. _"It means that there's a likely chance that the person is question is already dead. Of course, most of the time, that's just a formality because there isn't any evidence to suggest otherwise."_

Kira could already feel his blood running cold at the thought of Cagalli somewhere out in the ocean either struggling to stay afloat or already having drowned and now sinking to the bottom. He honestly did not want to believe that the fiery girl that had already survived so much now had perished so easily in this one battle, and in reality, he found that he could not believe it at all even if that were the case. There was just something inside him telling him that the blonde was indeed alive out there somewhere, and apparently, that feeling was shared.

"What was her last location," Steve inquired, not willing to give up just yet.

 _"Her Sky Grasper had been seriously damaged by an enemy DINN and I had ordered her to return to the ship, but after that, I lost sight of her,"_ Mu reported.

 _"That's all the more reason why we should consider listing her as MIA,"_ Natarle insisted.

 _"I think you may be jumping to conclusions, Lieutenant Badgiruel,"_ Murrue argued. _"We don't know that she's been shot down yet, and that's all the more reason to not give up on her. Miriallia, how much time is there until sunset?"_

 _"Um…about an hour, Captain,"_ the sharpshooter reported.

 _"But Captain, we're in Z.A.F.T. territory! Do you really plan to search for her,"_ Natarle asked in disbelief.

 _"It will be difficult from the air, so as soon as the Strike's done maintenance and repairs, we'll send Kira back out to search the area underwater,"_ Murrue replied.

Natarle sounded like she was getting ready to protest this decision until Halberton stepped in. _"That sounds like a reasonable plan to me. After all, Cagalli is technically a civilian passenger aboard this ship, so we have a responsibility to make sure that she's alright. Furthermore, if there's a chance that the Sky Grasper is recoverable by either side, then we can't take the chance of it falling into Z.A.F.T.'s hands, lest they find a way to counter our efforts up until now."_

That silenced all further arguments from the _Archangel_ 's SIC, and since it seemed that the bridge was done with their end of the conversation, Steve decided to step back in once again and said, "We can still search from the air if we have Thor join in the search as well. He doesn't really need as much rest as the rest of us, and as we've already seen, it's hard for people to know that he's even out there until he's right on top of you."

 _"Are you sure that's a good idea, though,"_ Natarle asked. _"I understand that he's not like the rest of us, but surely he does need some sort of rest after a battle like that."_

 _"Worry not, Lady Ruel of Badgir, the ruler of Asgard and son of Odin does not tire so easily,"_ Thor reassured the lieutenant. _"That aside, that simple skirmish was no more exhausting than a friendly brawl in the banquet halls when my fellow warriors of Asgard would travel there for a celebration that followed a glorious battle."_

"Well, you heard the Asgardian," Steve shrugged in response, and he then brought his attention to the blonde in question. "Thor, do you still have your old ID card on you?"

 _"Aye, though I only keep it on me for the purpose of remembering the glory days of the Avengers. I have not attempted to use it in many years,"_ Thor admitted.

"Well, now's as good a time as any to use it, because we'll need you to keep in contact with us with it. I'm guessing that it should still work even with the radio interference from the N-Jammers, but even so, just try to use it to contact my own Avengers ID card," Steve advised.

 _"Aye,"_ Thor nodded, and with that, the Asgardian was off into the air with a spin of his hammer and a small sonic boom, while Steve and Kira were helped back aboard the ship so that they could do the work that needed to be done on their suits before Kira headed back out again.

* * *

Cagalli was not sure how she was alive right now, but she was thanking her lucky stars for the simple fact all the same. It would have been better if she could get a signal through to the _Archangel_ , but the blonde was willing to take what she could get after getting shot down by an enemy aircraft. Cagalli was not sure what the plane was carrying, but she did know that it was a Z.A.F.T. plane, and the next thing she knew, they were shooting at her. Thankfully, she managed to land some good shots in retaliation before she eventually crash-landed on the island she was now stranded on, but even so, she knew that it was probably wishful thinking that anyone would find her way out there so long as her radio was unable to send out any kind of signal. Knowing that she could not just stay in the Sky Grasper forever for many different reason, Cagalli quickly managed to pull herself out of the jet and onto the shore of the beach with her emergency supplies firmly in hand.

After making her way further inland to see what else there was on the island, both out of curiosity and in case there was something she could use to help improve her situation, Cagalli was quickly surprised to find herself already at the beach that was opposite to the one she had ended up landing on, and she just as quickly commented on how tiny the island was to herself. Unfortunately, she soon saw a strong indication that she was not alone on the island, because after glancing around for a minute, she quickly found the familiar form of the X303 Aegis sitting against the small, rocky hill that surrounded a portion of the beach, and shortly after spotting the stolen mobile suit, her eyes landed on someone in a red Z.A.F.T. pilot's suit. Thinking quickly, Cagalli's hand instantly went for her gun, and by the time the pilot had even registered her presence, she was already armed and firing on him, forcing him to duck behind cover in response after Cagalli managed land a single shot that caught him in the arm.

Cagalli then slid down the hill with her weapon trained on where the pilot had disappeared to, and then cautiously made her way over to that same location after he feet had hit the sand. The only time that her eyes ever left the location was when she noticed something shinning on the ground nearby, and she quickly realized that it was the pilot's dropped sidearm. After getting within a respectable distance from her position against the side of the hill, Cagalli slowly edged over to the dropped weapon while keeping her gun trained on the Z.A.F.T. pilot, until eventually, she had moved well within his line of sight. As such, she did not miss how the pilot in question dropped down into a crouching position before he reached one of his boots and drew out a trench knife to hold at the ready. This action made Cagalli pause for a brief second while also allowing her to get a small look at the pilot in question.

Aside from the red uniform that she knew was worn by some of the elites in the Z.A.F.T. Forces, Cagalli could also see that the pilot had the kind of tanned skin that was common among people who grew up either on the moon or in one of the PLANT colonies, and blue hair that stopped just a few inches above his shoulders. A quick extra analysis then led Cagalli to believe that whoever this pilot was, he was most likely the same age as her and Kira, if not at least close to it. The only thing that Cagalli was not really able to make out at the moment were the pilot's eyes, as they were narrowed in a small glare while he held his knife in front of his face as if to form some sort of defense should she try to get closer, but such facts did not really matter at the moment, because the blonde figured it would be smarter for her to make sure that it would not be easy for him to retrieve his gun if she could help it.

That turned out to be just what the pilot was waiting for, as the minute that Cagalli's eyes had left him so that she could make sure she had effectively kicked the dropped weapon further away from him, he immediately lunged forward, making Cagalli think he was going to try and tackle her head on. As a result, when Cagalli fired at him this time, he was able to effectively evade the shots and propel himself over the hill and out of Cagalli's sights. Cagalli had to curse a little at letting this mystery pilot trick her like that before she removed the empty clip that was currently in her gun and quickly reloaded before she made her way over to the discarded weapon she had previously kicked away, thinking that it would make things easier for her to fight this guy if she had an additional weapon on her person.

This ended up leaving her open for when the pilot suddenly leaped out from his new hiding place, and he immediately used the chance to kick the retrieved gun out of her hand before she could even attempt to fire it. Cagalli was thrown a little off balance as a result of this, and was thus sent flying when the pilot grabbed her other arm and flipped her over with an easy turn of his arm. The pilot then pounced at Cagalli, thinking he had her pinned, but thankfully, Cagalli had received a little training from Logan, even before they had joined up with the _Archangel_ , and she easily rolled out of the way before he could land on her. Seeing that her sudden move had surprised the pilot, Cagalli immediately snapped her leg out and kicked him in the chest as hard as she could, sending him reeling from the blow as she charged forward with her fist cocked back for a hard punch. The pilot managed to block her next attack, and the one after, but he was unprepared for when the blonde suddenly dropped down and swept his feet out from under him, and as a result, he ended up dropping his knife, which Cagalli immediately grabbed after it hit the ground before she pinned him down beneath her as he had attempted to do just a moment ago.

Seeing as she had now managed to subdue the Z.A.F.T. pilot, Cagalli had to sigh a little in relief while she thought to herself, _Thank you Logan._ Of course, she had no intention of ever saying such words aloud, be it to the last X-Man or in passing, because she was sure that he would never let her hear the end of it, but at the moment, she was more focused on the pilot that she had pinned beneath her. Since they were now in much closer proximity, Cagalli was now more than sure that the guy was close to the same age as her and Kira, and she was now able to see that his eyes were a rather bright shade of emerald green that she found to be rather lovely to stare into, but she quickly squashed such ideas as she knew that she could not afford to let this guy catch her off-guard for even a second.

That became much easier to do when the pilot finally spoke up and repeated a certain phrase that she was getting sick of hearing. "You're…a girl!"

The minute she heard those words, Cagalli's amber eyes narrowed in irritation, and she immediately slammed one last punch across his face, knocking him out cold in an instant. Seeing as she now did not have to worry about him trying anything else at the moment, Cagalli slowly stood up as she panted in exhaustion and muttered to herself, "What is it with men?"

* * *

Cagalli was not very surprised that it was only a short while until the Z.A.F.T. pilot had regained consciousness, he was a Coordinator after all, but she was still a bit surprised that it took him almost two hours to do so. In that time, she managed to make sure that his knife was secure on her person so that he would be unable to cut the ropes that she used to tie him up and then disposed of his gun by tossing said weapon into the ocean. Before she went to inspect the stolen G-Weapon though, Cagalli could not help but notice that the arm she shot her prisoner in was still bleeding a little, and she figured she might as well make sure that the guy did not bleed to death, so she quickly patched him up as best as she could. In fact, it was at the exact moment when she had finished packing away the medical supplies she had used and started making her way over to the Aegis that the pilot finally woke up.

As soon as she saw the pilot's green eyes again, Cagalli had tensed a little just in case he had some other way to break free, until she saw him struggle fruitlessly against the ropes that were binding him. When he started reaching for where he had previously kept his knife, Cagalli finally spoke up and said, "Don't bother going for your knife. I've still got it on me and you won't be getting it back any time soon."

The pilot quickly turned his gaze on the blonde after she had spoken, and with the way he seemed to be studying her, Cagalli found she could not help but blush a little at the thought that he was likely checking her out. Thankfully, it seemed to go unnoticed, because the next thing that the pilot said was, "Well if you plan on trying to take my machine, then you might as well just kill me now, because I will kill you."

"You're not really in a position to be making death threats, and it's a little rude to threaten someone when they went to all the trouble of patching up your injuries," Cagalli pointed out.

It was at that point that the pilot finally realized that his shoulder injury had indeed been treated, much to his surprise, and the shock did showed just as much through his voice when he asked his next question. "Who are you? Last I checked, most Earth Forces soldiers wouldn't even think twice about helping to patch up an injured Coordinator, let alone one that they were just fighting against only a short time ago."

"Humph. Shows what you know. I'm not a soldier, and I'm not part of the Earth Forces. I may be traveling on one of their ships at the moment, but it's only temporary," Cagalli huffed in reply. Her voice then turned a little cold when she finished, "Unlike you, Athrun Zala."

At this point, the pilot gasped a little at how the blonde even knew his name, leading him to wonder how she even knew in the first place. This also seemed to show on his face, as Cagalli quickly revealed, "I saw your identification when I was treating your injury, so it shouldn't be that big of a surprise."

Athrun had to nod in acceptance of that, and he then just lay where he was in the sand quietly as Cagalli made her way over to the Aegis again. Part of the reason was because she was hoping that, despite whatever modifications had been made to the OS, she would be able to fly it back to the _Archangel_ , but she knew that was very unlikely. That was why she was mainly getting into the machine to try and see if she could use the mobile suit's radio to contact the ship and inform them of her location. Cagalli was naturally disappointed that such hopes were as fruitful as those of using the Sky Grasper's radio, but when she saw that she could launch an emergency beacon, she quickly figured out how to make the mobile suit move just enough to do that, and soon enough, the emergency signaling device had been deployed and activated.

After climbing out of the Aegis again, Cagalli heard thunder sounding in the distance, and her first thought that it was Thor coming to rescue her until she saw some storm clouds starting to roll in. The blonde immediately cursed under her breath, but she still moved quickly to find some shelter from the oncoming storm while also moving back over to her prisoner so that she could pull him into said shelter as well. Thankfully, she managed to find a small cave nearby, and she immediately started gathering a little firewood for in case they ended up being on the island overnight. After moving the small sticks and logs into the cave, she immediately dragged Athrun in as well, just as the rain started coming down while lightning and thunder crashed in the sky above.

"What are you doing," Athrun asked in bewilderment.

"What's it look like I'm doing? I'm making sure you don't catch a death of cold," Cagalli retorted.

"You do know that Coordinators can't catch a cold, right," Athrun reminded the blonde.

"Well forgive me for not wanting to take any chances," Cagalli quickly snapped in response. Athrun just sighed in response to this, but he ended up jumping a little when another bolt of thunder rang out. Cagalli easily took notice of this since she was pulling him into the cave, and had to smirk a little as she teased, "What's the matter? Is the big, bad Z.A.F.T. pilot scared of a little thunder?"

"No, of course not," Athrun immediately scoffed. "I've just…never dealt with this kind of thing before coming to Earth."

"Don't they have some kind of weather system that creates rain in the PLANTs or something," Cagalli pointed out.

"Well yeah, but it doesn't include thunder and lightning, and it also tends to operate on a schedule," Athrun revealed.

Cagalli could do nothing more than nod in response to that explanation and then propped him up against the wall of the cave once they were well inside so that she could start lighting the fire. Athrun just watched the girl as she worked, slightly surprised that she knew how to handle such things, but not as surprised as he was that she had managed to subdue him at all in the first place. He was pretty sure that she was a Natural, he did not think she would have attacked him otherwise, so the fact she had managed to beat him in a hand-to-hand fight was a bit surprising to him. That's not to say that Athrun thought that Naturals were weaker than Coordinators like that, at least not like a lot of people would think, but he did think that the fact that Coordinators tended to have better reflexes than Naturals normally gave them an advantage over most Naturals, so he could only assume that she had been trained by someone.

After thinking about it in silence for a few more minutes, Athrun finally gathered the courage to ask, "Where did you learn to fight the way you did earlier?"

Cagalli had finally managed to get the fire going when he asked, so there was not much of a problem with her stepping away from it at that point before she answered him. Although when she did answer the blue haired pilot, she had no intention of giving him an answer to his question just yet, if at all, so she simply replied with a question of her own. "Me first. Are you one of the guys who attacked Heliopolis?" When Athrun just looked at her questioning, she went on to elaborate, "I was there…when you guys attacked, took those machines, and destroyed it."

Athrun's eyes widened a little when he heard that, but eventually, he found that he could only give one answer. "Yeah…I was there."

Cagalli just nodded in response before her eyes narrowed a little while she started reaching for her gun again and said, "I should just kill you right now for what you did to that colony."

Athrun tensed a little, but he somehow managed to avoid showing that he was concerned the blonde would actually carry out her threat as he responded, "Look, we never dreamed that would happen, and it wasn't even supposed to go down like that in the first place. Our only mission was to take the mobile suits that Morgenroete developed. Nothing else was supposed to happen."

"And yet it did," Cagalli reminded him. "The fact is that you guys came and brutally attacked that colony."

Now Athrun was starting to get really annoyed with this girl, as shown when he continued to argue her point. "It's also a fact that Orb declared itself neutral and then helped build those things at Heliopolis. We're only fighting to protect the PLANTs, our homes, so we can't just look away when they're building those machines."

"Well it's the same thing for us. We're only fighting because you guys came and brutally attacked the Earth, or haven't you noticed that the airwaves are a complete mess because of what you guys did," Cagalli retorted.

"We only did that because of the Earth Forces' nuclear attack! Would you have preferred that we had retaliated in kind instead of taking an action that would prevent either side from using nukes again," Athrun questioned. When he saw that the blonde's resolve did not waver in the slightest, Athrun could not help but look down in sadness before he revealed, "Look…I get that you hold no love for me or really anyone in Z.A.F.T., but not all of us are the monster's you seem to think we are."

"Oh really," Cagalli snorted in disbelief. "Give me one good example of someone in Z.A.F.T. who isn't like that."

"You're looking at one," Athrun instantly revealed, finally catching Cagalli off-guard in her arguments, and then shocking her even more with the next thing that he revealed. "You see…my mother was on Junius Seven. It was only an agricultural PLANT, and yet innocent people were obliterated in an instant, even children! That's why I joined Z.A.F.T., so that I could prevent that from happening again."

Cagalli could honestly sympathize with the bluenette a little, and that's why the next thing she said was laced with less venom and hostility when she spoke. "I get that. A lot of my friends died too, because of your attacks, and that's all the more reason why I want to fight so I can stop such things from happening again."

At that point, the two locked gazes again, but this time, it was not entirely with intense glares, but also with looks of understanding that showed that they both could tell that they could understand that they both really understood were each coming from. After another minute or so, Athrun finally sighed and said, "We're quite the pair, huh? We both acknowledge that each side is responsible for doing something to the other, and yet neither one of us wants to just stop fighting and put it aside, at least until we're off this island."

Cagalli could not help but smile a little in response to this as she said, "Yeah, I guess we're practically an embodiment of what almost everyone else in the world is thinking in regards to this whole thing that has been going on for the past year." After letting that hang for a minute, Cagalli finally decided to answer Athrun's question, but she was still not going to give him the full details, and said, "About what you asked earlier…a friend of mine who's been around for a really long time taught me how to fight like that."

That caught Athrun's attention, and he quickly asked, "Would this friend happen to dress in red, white, and blue and carry a shield?"

That caught Cagalli by surprise, but she quickly reminded herself that it was really no secret at this point that Captain America was alive once again. Even so, she still ended up asking, "Why would that matter?"

Athrun glanced away for a minute before he finally replied, "I'm just…wondering if you've seen him or not. You know, Captain America? Since it has more or less been confirmed that he is alive now, at least among the military."

"…I might have," Cagalli finally admitted after a minute, giving an answer that was not entirely an admission of the fact.

Athrun just nodded in response before he asked, "Could you tell me about him? What he's like in your opinion, I mean."

Cagalli hesitated for a minute, mostly due to thinking about how to answer the question, before she finally said, "Well…from what I have seen, he's a lot like everything people have heard about him, but at the same time, he's also very kind since he almost always seems to be looking out for others. He also seems a bit disappointed though."

"Disappointed," Athrun inquired.

"It's like…he's upset that the world is the way it is now, but I think that's mostly because he doesn't like the whole Natural versus Coordinator thing that's been going on in recent years. I mean, he doesn't say it, but he definitely doesn't seem to like it when someone says something bad about someone just because they're a Coordinator," Cagalli elaborated.

Athrun nodded in understanding of that, and after another period of silence, he went on to ask, "So…what's your name?"

"Why do you ask," Cagalli immediately inquired in response.

"I just think it seems fair that I know who you are since you know my name."

The fiery-tempered blonde just stared at him for another minute before she finally gave in, smiled a bit, and said, "It's Cagalli."

Athrun could feel a bit of heat going to his cheeks at seeing the blonde's small smile, but he immediately shook it off and nodded in response to this before he finally relaxed against the wall she had propped him up against so that they could wait for whoever found the distress beacon's signal and ended up coming for them. The two said nothing to one and other after that point, but surprisingly, it had led to a rather comfortable silence instead of the intense one that they had expected it to. Maybe it was because of their talk, or perhaps it was because they now knew each other by their first names, or maybe it was even something else that neither of them were aware of. Whatever the case was, neither of them were really complaining.

Still, it came as a bit of a surprise when Cagalli suddenly stood up and untied Athrun. When the Z.A.F.T. pilot looked to his captor, the blonde immediately said, "It's not like keeping you prisoner would really make a difference right now, and besides, aside from that thing outside the cave's entrance, you're not really that big of a threat to me."

Athrun could not help the small smirk that reached his face as he quickly replied, "Are you sure about that? I am still faster than you in terms of reflexes."

"Maybe, but if I was worried about that, I probably wouldn't have untied you, or did you forget that I was the one who beat _you_ not too long ago," Cagalli reminded him.

Athrun was not really sure how to respond to that, so he ended up simply shrugging, "Point taken."

The two then fell into a comfortable silence once again, only this time, they were both sitting much more comfortably around the fire, feeling that they really had nothing more to say to each other until a rescue finally came for them.

* * *

Cagalli was not sure when she finally fell asleep, but she was quite proud to say that it was sometime well after Athrun had. The only thing she had a problem with was the fact that she had been woken up by another clash of thunder. When she looked outside though, she noticed that there was no longer any signs of a storm outside, and that could only have meant one thing to the blonde. After tossing the blanket she had wrapped herself in off her person, she immediately ran out of the cave to glance up into the sky, and her face quickly split into a massive grin of relief when she saw a certain blonde, hammer-wielding man floating in the air above the island.

"Thor! Thor down here," Cagalli immediately shouted with a wave, hoping that she would be able to get the Asgardian's attention. Her efforts had soon aroused Athrun from his own slumber, but they also succeeded in doing what she had hoped they would, as Thor had immediately turned his head towards her. After sitting in the air for another moment or so, Thor quickly raced down to the beach and landed with a powerful thud just as Athrun had left the cave, much to the mobile suit pilot's startled shock.

"Ho Lady Cagalli," Thor exclaimed. "It is a relief to see you are unharmed. After searching throughout the entire night with unsatisfactory results, I was beginning to think that there was little hope for you to have survived our recent battle."

Cagalli could do nothing more than grin in response to Thor's statement, but when the Asgardian suddenly started preparing for a fight upon finally noticing Athrun, she immediately raced in front of her unexpected acquaintance and said, "No wait; it's okay! He's not going to do anything."

After the blonde gave him a quick look to silently tell him to confirm what she was saying, Athrun dumbly nodded in reply, mostly due to the fact that a man in what appeared to be Viking armor had suddenly just dropped out of the sky before them and that Cagalli had called said man Thor. This seemed to satisfy the ruler of Asgard, as Thor soon nodded in return before he looked back to Cagalli and said, "Even so, we should leave this place quickly, as it seems that another human transport is coming towards this area. I believe that it is likely of Z.A.F.T."

Cagalli nodded in response and then told Thor where the Sky Grasper was before she looked back to Athrun and said, "We'll try to get out of here before your friends get here. Wouldn't want to turn this tiny island into a battlefield after all."

Athrun just nodded in response again, making it evident that he had lost the ability to speak at this point, but he was soon brought out of his shock when Cagalli gave him a small tap on the shoulder with her fist and said one last goodbye before she started making her way back to the other end of the island. His shock quickly returned in full when the blonde man suddenly spun his hammer around in his hand and then blasted up into the air in order to follow Cagalli, and after staring at where he had disappeared to, Athrun knew that he was likely going to have a very interesting report to fill out when he got back. All the same, he found that there was only thing he could say in response to what he had witnessed. "What just happened?"

* * *

 ** _AN: So, that all happened._**

 ** _AXL999: I thought that this chapter turned out pretty good. Although personally, I like how you did another iteration of that whole thing with Thor's hammer from Age of Ultron._**

 ** _AN: Yeah, that was funny in the movie, so I just had to figure out a way to get into this story. But you sir deserve the props for the idea of having Cagalli beat Athrun in their initial scuffle when they first meet this time._**

 ** _AXL999: You're too kind. Honestly, it does make sense for it to happen, considering Cagalli had been spending time with Wolverine since before the_ Archangel _had shown up in the desert, so it'd be a little weird if she didn't learn a few things about how to fight from Logan._**

 ** _AN: Hm, true enough. And then that thing there at the end...HA! You could just see the look on Athrun's face when Thor showed up._**

 ** _Captain America: Not to interrupt or anything, troops, but shouldn't we wrap this up sometime soon? I mean, you still have a preview to show for what comes next._**

 ** _AN: Relax, Cap, we're getting to it. Now, before anyone gets any ideas, just because Cagalli was able to make Mjolnir move a little, doesn't mean she's eventually going to be using it herself, but yeah, Captain America has used Mjolnir at least once in this story's past continuity. Like that was ever in doubt?_**

 ** _AXL999: Well, I just hope you won't keep us all waiting for this story's next chapter._**

 ** _AN: I'll...try not to, but I'm not going to make any promises on that. I don't want to say one thing and then end up doing something completely different later on, so..._**

 ** _AXL999: Yeah, yeah, just don't leave us hanging for several months again, and I think we'll be cool._**

 ** _AN: Okay, okay, I get the point. Sheesh, pour a little more salt on that wound why don't you?_**

 ** _AXL999: Sorry._**

 ** _AN: Nah, it's cool. I deserve it. But anyway, let's just move Onto the Preview!..._**

 ** _The_** **Archangel _soon finds itself in another battle against the stolen G-Weapons, but when things seem their bleakest, Cagalli reveals a secret that seems to allow them entrance into the neutral nation of Orb. While the ship's presence in Orb is quickly hidden, they all know that Z.A.F.T. is not very likely to just accept that they are not there, a fact that shows with the Zala team's next plan. Such concerns are quickly put aside for the moment, as Captain America finds himself encountering another connecting to his past, which leads everyone to a number of other discoveries. Next time on Shield of the Cosmic Era…_ Chapter 12: Monument in the Land of Peace _. Prepare to gaze into a window of an era gone by, Gundam and Captain America._**

 ** _Please read and review, and I'll see you next time, Gundam believers!_**


	12. Monument in the Land of Peace

_**AN: Hey guys! We back!**_

 _ **AXL999: And we're bringing in more Captain America and**_ **Archangel _action with us._**

 ** _AN: Along with a few cameo references to the wider Marvel-verse and the addition of a new face to the adventure._**

 ** _Yzak: Do you two have any idea how weird it is that you guys practically finished each other's sentences like that just now?  
_**

 ** _AXL999: What? You think we can do this naturally?_**

 ** _AN: Yeah, this kind of thing takes hours of rehearsal to get it done right, otherwise, it'd be just weird._**

 ** _Yzak: Really?_**

 ** _AN: No, not really. You can't rehearse something that's just written down like this unless its for an actual play or something...sucker._**

 ** _Yzak: What'd you call me?! Why I oughta..._**

 ** _AXL999: You sure you want to finish that sentence? [hand starts twitching to a tazer and freeze ray that are on his belt]_**

 ** _Yzak:...No thanks. I'm good._**

 ** _AN: Awe, but I wanted to do something to him. I had this cool little roller coaster thing with giant buzzsaws, flame throwers, and dips into giant pits of water that would've made him completely nuts, and...uh, I mean...never mind. Let's...let's just get on with the story so everyone can see what's up and what's new with our heroes in Shield of the Cosmic Era._**

 ** _AXL999: That'd probably be a good idea. And in the meantime, we should probably check on your sanity._**

 ** _AN: HEY!_**

 ** _Neither myself or AXL999 own anything from any of the Gundam or MARVEL franchises or any other franchise mentioned in this story._**

* * *

 **Chapter 12: Monument in the Land of Peace**

When Athrun had first arrived at Carpentaria and told everyone about what had happened to him, a lot of people at the base thought that his time on that small island had been enough to make him go crazy. The very idea that he had seen a man dressed in Viking armor suddenly land on the beach before him and then fly off with a wave of the hammer he had been carrying was not really something that sounded like something that a sane person would actually think was real. When his teammates mentioned this fact to him, along with some concerns about whether or not he would still be able to lead their chase after the _Archangel_ , Athrun insisted that he was completely fine and that he knew what he saw. The conviction in his eyes and the confidence that his voice carried was more than enough to assure the Zala Team that their leader was completely serious about the whole matter, so they figured that it would probably be better to just give Athrun the benefit of the doubt until they could later prove just how insane his story really was. What happened in the end though, had actually had the reverse effect of turning Athrun's friends, teammates, and colleagues into true believers on the matter.

It had not taken long for the Zala Team's submarine carrier to track down the _Archangel_ 's trail after they had received the reports on the last known location of Morassim's forces, and soon enough the four Z.A.F.T elites were once again engaging the _Archangel_ and its compliment of warriors in battle. What none of them had been expecting was for the man that Athrun had told them about to come racing through the air towards them whenever they tried getting too close to the ship in order to land some more solid hits on it, be it through blasts of lightning, a throw of his hammer, or some other means of ensuring the ship's safety. Under different circumstances, and if he were anyone else, Athrun would no doubt have had a smug look on his face as he remarked to his friends that he had told them so.

"Where do they keep finding these freaks," Yzak shouted as he managed to weave his way around the barrage of missiles and beam fire that the ship and its two mobile suits were sending up in his direction, only to be grazed a bit by a shot from Mu's Sky Grasper.

"You know, considering their newest fighter is an actual god, I don't really think you should be calling him a freak, Yzak," Dearka advised as he somehow managed to get away from the storm of lightning bursts that Thor was constantly sending towards him, no doubt in an attempt to keep the Buster pilot from getting close enough to deal some serious damage to the ship at a closer range. While the Buster itself could still send out some damaging shots on the ship, it was not really at a range that really made a great difference in Dearka's opinion.

"Actually, I'm pretty sure he's not an actual god," Nicol commented as he fired some of the Blitz's missiles at the ship, most of which were intercepted by the Patriot's shield while the rest managed to score a hit on the _Archangel_ 's hull.

"Doesn't matter right now," Athrun interrupted before the debate could go any further. "Right now we need to focus on bringing that ship and its mobile suits down. Yzak, try to target their engines. Nicol, you and I will flank them on the port side. Dearka, give us some covering fire."

"Roger that," the other three replied, and the Zala Team immediately sprang into action. Athrun's plan was easier said than done though, as most of the moves that his team made were either countered or intercepted by the Sky Grasper, the Strike, or the Patriot, and if it wasn't by them, then it was thanks in no small part to Tolle firing a few shots from his bazooka while Miriallia tried targeting some of the weak points on the mobile suits from the upper deck of the ship with her sniper rifle.

That did not mean that things were going that well for the _Archangel_ 's forces, because while they had all gotten much better in their time working together as a team, the Zala Team was still comprised of elite pilots who were incredibly skilled. Even with Thor backing the _Archangel_ up, there was no denying that at this moment in time, it had become hard to tell which of the two sides in this fight had the upper hand, but to a good deal of the _Archangel_ crew and fighters, it still felt like they were the ones who were outmatched, considering how long they had been chased by these same pilots. "No one in their right mind would've thought they'd chase us this far, the bastards," Tolle growled as he prepared to fire another payload of explosives that he had designed.

"That's the problem with determined enemies like this group, Koenig. They don't always think with their right minds," Captain America said just before he tossed the Patriot's shield through some of the Duel's missiles, destroying the projectiles before they could take out anymore of the _Archangel_ 's weapons. They had already lost two of their Igelstellungs and one of the Valiants, so Cap was not all that eager to let the ship lose anymore of its offensive power than it already had. After charging his machine forward so that it could retrieve its shield, Cap aimed the beam rifle that he was using in place of the Flag Saber once again and let loose a quick barrage so that he could manage to fly the Patriot back on top of the ship's deck, discouraging the enemy mobile suits from trying to attack him while he was in mid-air, while simultaneously worrying Kira with how much he had been firing said weapon until now.

"Cap, be careful. That rifle has a limited ammo supply even when the Strike is using it," Kira warned the super soldier.

"Relax Kira. I know how to handle it, and besides, I have yet to see a rifle that had an unlimited amount of ammo," Captain America replied.

"Clearly someone hasn't played a lot of video games," Sai muttered to himself in good humor, drawing a small chuckle from Flay who was handling Miriallia's duties on the bridge once again.

"Less joking and more working," Logan shouted from his position at the helm controls that Tolle normally manned. "And Buskirk, man up and quit your whimpering. This isn't the time for that."

Kuzzey did not seem to heed Logan's words at first, as he continued ducking his head down beneath his arms in an attempt to block out the explosions that were ringing out around him, but he eventually managed to return his focus to his regular duties for a little bit. Of course, none of this was distracting anyone from the fact that they were getting overwhelmed by the four machines, even with Mu, Kira, and Steve all targeting the platforms that the Z.A.F.T. pilots were using to keep their mobile suits airborne. Eventually, Kira spotted an opening that he could exploit when the Duel suddenly broke from his team's formation and charged towards them, clearly targeting the Strike above everything else. That ended up giving Kira the perfect chance to target the flight platform it was on and destroy it with a quick, single shot, but Yzak did not let that deter him for long, as he quickly had his machine jump clear before the platform exploded, arming his machine's beam saber as he fell towards the ship with the guns of his assault shrouds blazing in a way that made it obvious that he was just shooting them at random as an attempt to deter them from trying to charge him and stop his approach.

"Is he seriously jumping on board," Kira exclaimed as he did his best to deflect the Duel's shots with the Strike's shield.

"Not on my watch," Cap stated as he set his rifle down on the deck and had the Patriot take a mighty leap into the air with its own shield forward. Once he was close enough to the Duel, Cap armed one of the Patriot's beam sabers and managed to slice through the Duel's sword with a single, precise swing of the blade, which he then followed up by using his machine's thrusters to move himself behind the Duel so that he could toss the machine's shield into the Duel's back, sending the mobile suit hurtling down towards the water below while the shield easily returned to the Patriot's waiting hand, just in time for him to block the shots that the Blitz was firing on him in retaliation for his attack on Nicol's comrade. Using as much of the energy that he had left in the Patriot's thrusters as he could, Cap charged towards the Blitz at full throttle, and knocked the disappearing mobile suit off its own platform so that he could destroy that one was well with a swing of the Patriot's shield, letting Nicol and his machine fall into the water right after Yzak.

Seeing two of his teammates go down so easily prompted Athrun to take action against the red and blue mobile suit, and since he had to focus on using the remaining energy in the Patriot's thrusters to land back on the _Archangel_ , Steve could do nothing more than just raise his shield in defense of the Aegis' beam attacks. Thankfully, Cap and Athrun were both reminded that the former was not alone in his fight, as the red mobile suit was soon chased off with a quick beam barrage from the Strike which had almost struck a little too close to home for Athrun's taste, and the young man was soon chased away from Captain America's machine before he could do any harm to the unit. Even so, it was hard for Athrun to not notice how precise Kira's shots were when he had fired on him, as it was clear that Kira was hoping to hit one of the Aegis' arms or legs, or even its beam rifle during his attempt at chasing Athrun away from the Patriot, which served to tell Athrun that Kira's skills had improved a great deal since their last encounter.

What no one on either side had noticed was that a small news drone was recording their actions and relaying them to the nearby island nation of Orb, but it was not long before some of them had noticed the large fleet that said nation had sent out in response to the two groups fighting so close to the edge of their territory. When he had noticed the fleet forming at the edge of Orb waters, Logan could only growl under his breath at the knowledge of what would likely be coming in a few minutes, at least if Orb was anything like Wakanda had been lately when it came to ships that were battling too close to their borders. That was why he did not hesitate to notify the crew of what he had spotted by saying, "Hey, we've got company incoming from a short ways off."

"Confirmed. An Orb Fleet has amassed at the boundary line," Chandra confirmed.

"Do you think they're coming to help us," Kuzzey asked, his voice oozing with hopefulness that made some of the people on the bridge scowl a little at his naiveté.

"Not a chance in hell," Logan grumbled. "If they're anything like Wakanda has become, then they'll likely just shoot at us and those Z.A.F.T. guys in order to keep us out of their territory."

Before Kuzzey or anyone could argue with Logan's sentiment, Murrue immediately took charge and ordered, "Bare port fifteen. Logan's right; they're going to open fire if we get too close. Orb is not our ally. Everything might be fine in peace time, but not in this situation."

"You're wrong," Cagalli suddenly shouted, announcing her and Kisaka's arrival to the bridge the minute she did, and drawing a number of confused looks to her as a result. "Head directly for their territory. I'm going to talk to Orb, personally."

"Miss Cagalli, that won't make any difference at all," Halberton protested. "Do you seriously think that they'll let us into their territory just because a civilian is requesting that they do so, especially since it's clear as day that we're in the midst of a battle with Z.A.F.T?"

Before the blonde could argue her point, Kuzzey picked up on a communication signal from the Orb fleet and immediately put it on for everyone to hear once he had announced it. _"This is a warning to the Earth Forces ship and all Z.A.F.T. Forces in the vicinity: You are currently approaching Orb Union territory. Alter your course at once. In defense of our neutrality we strictly prohibit all armed ships, aircraft, and mobile suits from entering our waters. Turn your forces at once. I repeat: alter your course at once. This is your final warning. Should you fail to change your course, we will exercise our nation's right to defend itself, and we will open fire on you."_

"They're gonna open fire on us too," Kuzzey exclaimed in shock.

"What're they talking about neutral? The _Archangel_ was constructed by Orb," Chandra muttered.

"Never mind! Proceed into their territory," Cagalli snapped and she then raced over to Kuzzey's station and snatched his headset from him before anyone could protest. _"_ How dare you say those things after seeing the mess we're in," the blond practically shouted. "The _Archangel_ is going to cross into Orb territory, but do not open fire!"

 _"Who is speaking right now,"_ the Orb fleet commander demanded.

"Who am I speaking to?! If you really can't tell who this is then connect me to your superiors!...Call my father. Call Uzumi Nara Athha," Cagalli demanded, making everyone think she might have gone a little more crazy than usual until they heard the next thing that she said. "My name is Cagalli Yula Athha."

That shocked everyone who had heard the blonde, both on the _Archangel_ and otherwise for various reasons, as they all knew that Uzumi Nara Athha was chief representative of Orb, and if what Cagalli had just said was true, then that meant she was what the news had started calling the wayward princess who had apparently disappeared shortly before Heliopolis' collapse. Not everyone had been as shocked as the others, Captain America and Thor being two of those people for rather obvious reasons, but there were still some who recovered from their shock much more quickly than everyone else, and the Orb fleet commander was one of them. _"I'm in no mood for jokes. There's no way in hell that the princess can be on board your ship! Besides, even if you are who you say you are, I can't just do whatever you say without some kind of hard evidence to back up your claim."_

"You bastard," Cagalli shouted just before the line was cut from the Orb fleet's end, and her shout of indignation was quickly punctuated by an explosion that shook the ship, courtesy of the Buster.

"No need to get all flustered. They're not going to make it to your territory. I'll finish them off first," Dearka boasted proudly in his own response to the Orb fleet's warning.

"Not that guy again," Miriallia moaned as she moved around so that she could take aim at the Buster with her own sniper rifle, intending on at least taking out one of the stolen mobile suit's optics. Unfortunately for her, the light reflecting off her gun had caught Dearka's attention, and alerted him to what she was doing, prompting him to turn his weapons on her position. With little time to think, Miriallia quickly tossed her weapon up and then ducked down as far back from it as she could move just before Dearka's blast had hit the rifle and the deck around her.

"Miriallia," Kira and Tolle both shouted in horror at seeing their friend being fired upon by the enemy mobile suit.

After a minute's silence, Miriallia finally radioed in, but there was no hiding the slight amount of groaning that could only be accompanied by some form of injury when she spoke. "I'm okay," Miriallia reported. "I was able to throw my rifle into the path of the attack before getting clear, but I don't think I'm going to be much help now seeing as its toasted, and it'll take me a minute to get my other rifle ready."

"We can't take any chances, Miriallia. Get back into the ship and head for the medical bay. We'll try to handle things from here," Captain America ordered, and he soon received a reluctant "yes sir" in response from the girl shortly afterwards. Cap then looked to see Mu and Thor were quickly engaging the Buster in retaliation for its last attack, and as he analyzed the battlefield around him, he could not help but wonder just how well they would be able to manage with or without Miriallia at this point, because it was quickly becoming clear that with the way things were progressing, the _Archangel_ and her forces would not likely last for much longer.

* * *

What no one knew was that in addition to the drone that had been sending out a live broadcast feed to the people of Orb, there was also a second spy drone out there that had gone completely unnoticed, more than likely due to the cloaking tech that it was using, and that same drone was transmitting a visual back to an undisclosed location that very few knew about, where the drone's master was watching on. As the individual in question continued to watch the feed, it was clear that he had the drone focusing as much of its attention on the patriotic mobile suit of the group just outside Orb waters than anyone else, and after a few more minutes of watching the Patriot in action, as well as closely observing the fighting style that the machine utilized in combat, the man could not help but smile a little in both excitement and anticipation at the opportunity that this was presenting him. Once he finally felt he had seen enough of what was happening just outside Orb water, the man turned his head a little and said, "Jocasta, connect me to the Orb Parliament building, Lord Uzumi's personal line."

 **"You've got it, Boss, but you know he's probably going to be a little upset by your sudden call,"** a synthesized voice replied, clearly indicating that the person had been talking to an AI.

"Since when is he ever really happy to get a call from me," the man retorted. He then quickly added, "That's a rhetorical question, by the way, so you don't really need to answer that, Jocasta."

 **"Whatever you say,"** Jocasta replied, though one could not help but feel there was a hint of sarcasm in her tone.

After listening to the sound of a phone ringing, Lord Uzumi's voice finally came in over the speakers that Jocasta was using to speak with her boss. _"I hope you realize that I'm not all that fond of you just calling me up like this whenever you feel like it as though I were one of your little lapdogs."_

"Come on, Lord Uzumi, you know that I only call you for the best of reasons," the man remarked in an easy going tone. "I just want to ask if you really plan on chasing the _Archangel_ away like you seem to be. I mean, I'm pretty sure you're not going to, but you can never be too sure about anything."

 _"Would that inquiry have anything to do with the red and blue mobile suit that may or may not be piloted by someone who holds a significant place in your family's history,"_ Lord Uzumi asked in a knowing tone.

"There's no maybe about it, Lord Uzumi. I can tell by the fighting style that machine is using that its pilot is definitely who the rumors are saying it is. Captain America is the second mobile suit pilot of the _Archangel_ ; I'd stake my family legacy and everything we own that acts as a reminder of those times on it," the man insisted, and one did not need to see his face to know just how certain of these facts he really was.

There was a slight pause on Lord Uzumi's part in response to the heavy conviction of belief that the man's tone had carried, but eventually, the Lion of Orb did regain his voice again and said, _"Don't worry. I doubt that we'll really be turning the_ Archangel _away if her situation is as dire as it seems."_

"Well, just let me know what I can do to help cover your tracks and when they get in, because I'll want to talk with the captain in person. Oh and, I'm pretty sure that the ship will be taking a serious hit that will end up forcing it to have no choice but to cross into Orb territory right about…now." A second after the man had said that last part, the _Archangel_ had taken a hard hit to its engines because of a combined, last-ditch effort from the Buster and the Aegis, forcing the ship to end up landing in Orb waters.

 _"…Sometimes I hate it when you do that,"_ Lord Uzumi finally stated.

"Hey, I've gotta have fun somehow," the man shrugged before he hung up. He then stood up from his chair and turned to look at something that was mostly hidden in shadow, save for a few blue lights that were being emitted from what appeared to be eyes and a blue circle in the chest of what appeared to be a metal body. "Now then…all I have to do is figure out what to say to a living legend that had fought alongside my ancestor so many years ago. I don't know whether I should be excited, nervous, afraid, or some weird combination of all three, but I guess that just makes me all the more eager for when he gets here."

* * *

Meanwhile, back out where the _Archangel_ was, the ship had indeed taken a serious hit to its engines and was now slowly falling out of the sky, cruising straight towards Orb territory because of the last hit that it had taken from the Buster and the Aegis. Thankfully, Kira, Tolle, Mu, and Cap were able to make the two offending mobile suits back off from doing any further damage to their ship, but no one was able to keep the _Archangel_ from crossing into Orb waters, and as a result, the ship soon came under fire from the Orb fleet. Thor was quick to turn and start charging towards the vessels that were attacking his comrades, until he suddenly heard Captain America ordering him to stand down.

"Captain, why are you asking me to stop when they are clearly attacking us," Thor inquired.

"Look again, Thor," Cap told his old friend, and when the Asgardian did so, his eyes quickly widened just enough to see what the super soldier had. "If they were really planning to destroy us, then why would a fleet that's famous for its accuracy be missing with so many of their shots at us? Understand now?"

"Verily," Thor smirked in reply, and that smirk grew wider when he saw the Patriot gesturing for him to help with what the Orb fleet was doing. A second later, Thor had flown closer to the water and spun his hammer around at a speed that conjured up an enormous spray of sea water that would leave many people blind to what was really happening, but especially so in the case of the Aegis, which was still close enough to see what was happening to the white Earth Forces ship.

Athrun tried his best to see through the smoke of explosions and the surge of sea spray that the Orb fleet and Thor were creating around the _Archangel_ , but his line of sight to the ship was soon completely blocked when a small fleet of surveillance drones suddenly flew into his path, blocking it from view completely. Seeing as he had no way to see for certain whether or not the _Archangel_ would be destroyed, Athrun finally backed off and flew back to the carrier sub that the rest of his teammates had returned to after getting shot down. He knew that they would be receiving an official statement from Orb on the matter soon enough, but there was a likely chance that the nation would not be entirely truthful in what they said, and so, he immediately started forming a plan in his head in order to confirm whether or not the _Archangel_ was finally destroyed or chased away for himself.

* * *

Almost an hour or so later saw the _Archangel_ being escorted into a secret harbor by the Orb fleet that had "chased them away", at least according to the official report, while Kira and Cap both watched on from the upper deck next to their mobile suits. This was mostly as a show of good faith to Orb that said that they would not attempt to rearm their machines in an attempt to attack them from within, but it also allowed Kira to really look on and watch as one of the islands that made up his homeland came closer and closer into view of the ship, while Steve was allowed to provide full, undeniable proof that he was who he appeared to be to the Orb fleet and to anyone else who would be watching them. As they approached the island where they would be docking the ship, Steve glanced over to see Kira had a glazed over, dull expression on his face that one would not really expect from someone who was finally coming home after being away for so long, and that immediately peaked the super soldier's concern for the boy.

After seeing Kira's look remain unchanged, Cap finally decided to break the silence between them and asked, "So how does it feel?"

"What," Kira asked in response after he came out of his stupor.

"How does it feel coming back to your home nation after so long to you," Steve elaborated.

Kira looked out towards one of the Orb ships for a minute before he finally said, "I…honestly don't know how I'm supposed to feel right now. I mean, it's great to finally be back in Orb and everything, and I know that my parents are here, so there could be something of a chance I could see them if I wanted to, but at the same time, we're still soldiers on an important mission, and we've all been through so much now that it feels kind of strange." Kira let that sit for a minute before he finally asked, "Does that make any sense?"

"A lot more than you think," Steve admitted.

"What was it like for you coming home from the first war you were ever in," Kira asked, thinking that it would be easier for him to put a name to his feelings if he got an example from Steve.

Cap could stop himself from chuckling at that question even if he wanted to, but eventually he did manage to reply, "When I finally came back home from my first war, I had been sleeping in ice for about seventy years, and everything had changed so much that I didn't even recognize any of it at first. I doubt I'm really the best example to ask about that, Kira."

Now it was Kira's turn to let out a small chuckle, though his was decidedly much more sheepish, as he had forgotten that small fact about Captain America's history when he had asked that question. Before he could apologize for bringing the matter up, the two felt the ship slow to a quick stop and then spin around so that the front was facing out to sea while the rear was facing a rock face that had opened up to reveal a secret, underground hangar, no doubt the place where they would be docking and receiving repairs for their ship. Seeing this had surprised Kira a bit, but it only made Captain America think about the various different S.H.I.E.L.D. bases and Avengers headquarters that had similar entry methods for their transports.

Steve was not the only one who was not completely surprised by the existence of this underground dock, as a good deal of the _Archangel_ 's crew were able to cast it off as something that was to be expected since both the ship and the G-Weapons were developed in secret at Heliopolis, so it only made sense that the neutral nation would have something like this. This belief was further enforced when Kisaka finally spoke up to explain the full reason for their needing to dock the ship in this underground dock. "Onogoro is owned by the military and Morgenroete. We can't be detected in here even by satellites."

"Don't you think it's about time you came clean with us as to who you really are? Seeing as your young friend here already has done so, I doubt that you've been completely honest with us about your own identity," Halberton remarked.

Kisaka just smiled a little and gave a quick salute as he stated, "Ledonir Kisaka. I'm a colonel in the Orb ground forces, Twenty First airborne unit. I am her bodyguard."

That drew slight gasps of awe from the younger members of the _Archangel_ crew, but the ship's captain on the other hand was not as awed by this revelation. "Do you think we should be grateful for this rather unexpected turn of events," Murrue demanded, though she made sure to keep her voice as even as possible in order to hide just how upset she was by the fact that they had been unknowingly transporting the daughter of a nation's leader.

"I believe that's a question better directed at the person you're going to be meeting very soon: the heir of Orb, Lord Uzumi Nara Athha," Kisaka replied, effectively dodging the question completely while making Murrue start planning for the meeting that Kisaka had mentioned they would soon be having.

It did not take much time for the ship's captain to think things over before she had settled on who would be attending the meeting with Lord Uzumi with her. "Lieutenant Badgiruel, please inform Commander La Flaga, Captain Rogers, and Thor that they'll be attending the meeting with Lord Uzumi along with us and Admiral Halberton."

"Captain, I can somewhat understand why you would have Admiral Halberton and Mu…I mean Commander La Flaga join us, but why Thor and Captain America," Natarle asked, having to pause for a minute to catch herself from addressing Mu in an informal manner while on duty.

"As you yourself have pointed out in the past, Thor is a head of state, being the ruler of Asgard, so that means that he should have some voice in these talks with Lord Uzumi, and being the former leader of the Avengers as well as a former agent of S.H.I.E.L.D. means that Captain America knows a few things about dealing with these types of situations as well. Furthermore, since Cap is effectively the leader of the Howling Commandos, it only seems right that he join us as well," Murrue explained, and she had to give herself a mental pat on the back for managing to hide her knowing smile when she noticed Natarle's little slip up.

Natarle had to admit that Murrue had a point in her argument, though she could not help but suspect that Murrue was also bringing Captain America and Thor along as a way of showing just who was under her command and what their fighting strength consisted of aside from the Hawk of Endymion and Admiral Halberton. Doing this would show Lord Uzumi that the _Archangel_ was not a ship to be taken lightly for any reason, and that they stood for honest and good beliefs that were not so different from the ideals of Orb. It was a rather clever move on the ship captain's part, and Natarle could not help but give a small smile in acknowledgment of this fact before she turned to do as ordered. Now the only thing that they had left to do was wait until their escort to their meeting place had arrived.

* * *

If he were being honest with himself, Steve was not expecting to join the _Archangel_ Commanders in meeting with Lord Uzumi, but after thinking it over for a minute, he could see the reasons behind their asking him to do this, so he simply went along with it without any complaint. That did not stop him from trying to dissuade them from having Thor join in, as he knew from past experience that most of Thor's go-to options for negotiation were usually to hit things with his hammer or just challenge someone to a battle. The Asgardian's reassurance that he would not do as such here did not really ease his nerves on the matter by very much, but after reaching the building where he would finally be face-to-face with Lord Uzumi without much incident from the thunderer, he could feel himself relaxing on that matter a little more.

When they finally arrived at their destination, they discovered that it was actually Orb's military headquarters. After thinking about it for a minute though, it really was not that much of a surprise, given that it was well away from too many prying eyes that should not see them within Orb territory. The meeting room that they were eventually led to was actually a rather neat setup, given the long conference table in the middle of the room, and the fireplace that was on the other side of it. Above the fireplace, they could also see the neutral country's emblem embedded in the wall, and there was just something about the symbol that made them all feel like it was similar to a peaceful star in the sky. After looking at their surroundings for another minute, the door opened to admit their host himself, Lord Uzumi, granting some of the group their first look at the man behind Orb. Lord Uzumi seemed to give off a gentleman kind of vibe, while also exuding the confidence and determination of a leader who was willing to do whatever he could to protect both his people and the ideals that they all stood for, and given his dark, almost graying hair, it was easy to guess that he was indeed probably old enough to have a daughter that was Cagalli's age. The only other thing that was really worth noting about the government official was that he was currently decked out in the standard attire for a member of Orb's government, that being a dark violet coat and pants and a light blue dress shirt.

After looking over the group before him for a minute, Lord Uzumi had to smile a little and then approached the red, white, and blue clad member of the group as he softly commented, "Captain America. So it is true. You are indeed alive once again. Despite the circumstances upon which we are meeting, it's an honor to meet you."

"The pleasure is all mine, Lord Uzumi," Steve replied in full honesty, as he could sense that the man was being just as honest with him when he had spoke. "I'm afraid you have me at a disadvantage though, since the only things I know about you are from what little I've read during my spare time aboard the _Archangel_. Even so, I could tell that you're a good man who cares a great deal for his homeland."

"Well, I certainly hope I continue to live up to your expectations, Captain," Lord Uzumi nodded in thanks, and he then turned to the blonde Asgardian in the room. "I don't believe I know of you though, sir."

"I am Thor Odinson, ruler of Asgard, wielder of Mjolnir, and a fellow former Avenger to Captain America," Thor informed Lord Uzumi.

The lion of Orb stared at Thor in slight surprise when he had heard this, but after a minute or so, he exchanged a polite nod and greeting with the Asgardian as well, and then offered the group of six a seat so that they may conduct the business that they had been brought here for, though Lord Uzumi did so while doing his utmost to suppress his urge to freak out a little at hearing that the man in question was in fact Thor. "As you know, our nation is neutral," Lord Uzumi began. "Therefore, the official line is that our forces chased your ship from our territorial waters."

"I see," Murrue nodded in understanding of where this seemed to be heading.

"You didn't save us just because we had your daughter on board, now did you," Mu interrupted, putting forth a question that some of them could not help but wonder about.

"Do you honestly believe I would risk the fate of an entire nation and its people for the sake of one, small little girl," Lord Uzumi demanded.

Cap and Thor both had to furrow their brows a little at Lord Uzumi's description of his daughter, seeing as Cagalli was most certainly not a little girl, but they said nothing on the matter, choosing to think of it as a result of parental mentality, and instead just let Mu say, "Excuse me if I implied that, sir."

A minute later, Lord Uzumi's affronted look dropped as he let out a tired sigh and said, "Things would be so much easier if it were only that simple. There's Heliopolis, the children of this nation who became involved and ended up volunteering as soldiers, and the achievements of the X-numbers in battle after battle…I've gone over this before: would it have been wiser for me to protect the nation's people, and just let that ship and mobile suit go ahead and sink? And even at this very moment, I'm still wondering if I made the right decision."

"I…I'm terribly sorry about Heliopolis and the children. I realize my words on this matter are not an official apology, but from a personal standpoint, I am _deeply_ sorry for what happened," Murrue apologized almost an instant later.

"No, forget it. There's plenty of blame for us to share, since it's also an inherent problem of our nation," Lord Uzumi waved off.

"Sir, in my own opinion, I'd like to think that maybe you did make the right decision in helping us," Captain America stated. "I'm no politician, so I can't really say that I really understand your position, but as someone who's had led others in so many different situations, I like to think that nothing is worth being done if it means that anyone had to be sacrificed because of the decisions you make, and even if it does end up leading to a greater victory, the fact that someone had to die in order for that victory to be achieved often sours it a great deal."

Lord Uzumi nodded in thanks for Captain America's words, and then proceeded to carry on with what he was saying earlier. "I wish that my reasons for helping you were that noble, Captain, but there is much more to it than that. The reason that we maintain our position as a neutral state is because we don't want to face either Naturals or Coordinators as enemies. We can't carry out these intentions without power, and yet with power we become a target. I'm sure as soldiers you don't want to have this kind of discussion."

"I understand your words quite well, Lord Uzumi of Orb," Thor stated. "Asgard has often come under siege because of the great power it wields which others have often desired, and I have been forced to fight many battles in her defense because of those selfish and greedy individuals. Though we wish to represent order in the Nine Realms, we cannot do so without giving off a beacon of strength, and yet doing so also makes us a target as well. 'Tis a verily vicious cycle."

"And I'm sure that others can understand that view as well, such as the people of Wakanda, or even certain other people, such as those of mutant kind," Captain America added.

"I too, can understand what you're saying, Lord Uzumi, but you see, we also have a…" Murrue started to say, but she ended up pausing when she realized that she had no real way to state her own views in a way that did not sound either childish or selfish in these circumstances.

Luckily, Halberton was more than happy to speak up for the _Archangel_ 's captain. "We have a great deal of a reason to fight, one that goes beyond the simple matter of Naturals and Coordinators. You see, this war has become nothing more than a statistical readout to the people in command who've been wasting precious resources on concessions, and have come to consider the number of soldiers we've lost in the battlefield as nothing more than figures on paper. I personally consider such thoughts towards the good men and women that I've lost as an insult to their memory."

"I can understand that, Admiral, and in a way, I admire you for that, because it shows that you do not consider the loss of any life to be as something so insignificant," Lord Uzumi nodded. "In any case, I really should explain to you all the main reason why we didn't let your ship be destroyed, for as I had said earlier, it was not as noble as I would wish it could have been. We would like all of the Strike's current combat data, and the loan of its pilot, the Coordinator, Kira Yamato for technical cooperation with Morgenroete. We're willing to provide you and your ship with extensive assistance if you agree."

Murrue was more than ready to jump up from her seat and start protesting Lord Uzumi's ultimatum, as it could not really be called anything else from her standpoint, but a small look from both Steve and Halberton immediately quieted her reaction, so she simply held her tongue and let the admiral of the two take up the reigns for this part of the conversation. "A part of me is surprised that's all you're requesting of us, Lord Uzumi, but then again, I suppose that it is only fair that you would do so, seeing as at least one of those things you're requesting is part of the deal that you had made with the Atlantic Federation," Halberton stated.

"Deal? What are you talking about, Admiral," Natarle inquired, speaking up for the first time since the meeting had started.

"In order to develop the G-Weapons in Heliopolis, the higher ups had made a deal with Lord Uzumi that said that Orb would receive the combat data of all five machines after their first few real encounters with Z.A.F.T. Forces, along with that of the _Archangel_ , depending on the level of success each had achieved in battle. I think you all know why such a thing was not able to be fully seen through," Halberton explained.

"Because Z.A.F.T. had stolen the other four units and the collapse of Heliopolis, not to mention the precarious situation we found ourselves in soon afterwards," Murrue softly filled in.

"Yes, and as a result, we were not really able to follow through on the agreement," Halberton confirmed. He then turned to Lord Uzumi and said, "I know that an apology probably won't help matters in regards to that deal, but you still have my own personal apologies for that. Still, I can't help but wonder why you would only want the combat data for the Strike and the loan of Lieutenant Yamato to Morgenroete. Surely you've noticed by now that there is far more for us to offer."

"Yes, and I mean no offense to you or Thor when I say this, Captain Rogers, but as far as my nation is concerned, the Strike and Kira Yamato are the only ones that can really offer us anything in the way of protecting our nation," Lord Uzumi said. "We are not interested in recreating the super soldier serum that gave rise to the legendary Captain America for many different reasons, and given the current state of the world, it would be much more prudent to increase production and efficiency of any mobile weapon development that we currently have. The Strike's combat data and Kira Yamato can easily help with both."

"So you wish to use the young lad as a tool to create a more powerful blade for your nation," Thor almost sneered in disgust.

"Honestly, I would much rather allow him to return home, if I were able to, but you cannot deny that the boy holds a great deal of potential in him to do so much to help strengthen our nation, and given that this is his homeland, do you really believe that he would refuse to help if it meant that Orb would remain safe," Lord Uzumi clarified.

Everyone could understand where Lord Uzumi was coming from once he had said that. As much as it disgusted him to take advantage of Kira like this, he felt that he had no real choice if he wanted his nation and his people to remain safe and secure from any who would threaten it. Given the kind of pressure most of them knew he was under because of both the PLANTs and the Federation, it was only natural that he would be desperate to gain any help he could hope for in the hopes of accomplishing this goal, but that did not mean that either he nor they had to like it, especially if it meant using Kira in the manner that Thor had suggested. There was no doubt that Lord Uzumi would not force Kira to do anything if he did not want to, but regardless of this fact, there was little doubt that they could avoid having Kira volunteer his services to Morgenroete in some way if they wanted to have their ship fully repaired and ready for the next time that they left Orb waters and encountered Z.A.F.T.

After thinking all of this over for another minute, Murrue felt that she had reached a decision on the matter, but before she could give voice to that decision, she found herself stopping short when Lord Uzumi suddenly turned to give Captain America his full attention. "There is also one other thing I wanted to tell you, Captain Rogers, but this has nothing to do with our agreement and is completely optional for you," the lion of Orb announced. "I was asked by one of Orb's most valued and trusted citizens, and a personal friend of mine, to invite you to meet with him so that he could show you something that he thinks you would like to see."

Upon hearing this, Murrue had a feeling that Steve now had a final say on what their group would do, and there was little doubt in her mind that the super soldier would decide the same thing that she already had, and she was not entirely disappointed on the matter. "Sir, I would be happy to meet with this person at their earliest convenience, but I do have some conditions that I would like to add to this little deal."

"Oh," Lord Uzumi inquired, his curiosity showing on his face.

"If I am to agree to meet with this person, and if you want us to lend Kira to Morgenroete, then I would like for my team, which consists of the students you had mentioned earlier and Mu, as well as anyone else from the _Archangel_ that I choose to see this as well. In addition to that, I'd also like for you to allow some of the crew to take a moment of shore leave while we are here so long as they promise to make sure that their identities as members of the ship's crew are well concealed and they promise not to cause trouble in your nation. If you can't allow that latter request, then I would at least like for you to see if it is possible for those kids to meet with their families, even if it's for a moment," Captain America stated, making sure that his words were as clear as the conditions that he had just laid out to Orb's representative.

Lord Uzumi himself was actually a bit surprised by some of Steve's conditions. It had not surprised him that he would request for his fellow crewmates and soldiers to have some shore leave while they were here in Orb, after all, some of those crewmembers were still kids who were originally just citizens of this nation and it would seem a little insensitive to force them to either remain aboard the ship or in the underground hangar that the _Archangel_ was currently docked in, but when he heard that he wanted some of them to join him in seeing what his friend had to show the super soldier, he could not help but wonder if the captain already had something of a suspicion as to who the person in question was. More than that, not once had Steve made any direct requests for himself as a person, but then again, given what history said about Captain America and his nature as a person, Lord Uzumi probably should not have been all that surprised by that, seeing as history often depicted the heroic soldier as a man who stood for the freedom and liberty of others.

After thinking over both these thoughts and the requests themselves, while admittedly tuning out what Halberton and the other _Archangel_ Officers were saying in support of some of Cap's requests since their words had already been said by Steve or just run through Lord Uzumi's mind, the lion of Orb finally let a ghost of a smile appear on his bearded face and said, "Very well then. I will see what I can do about getting some shore leave for your crew, but I want to make it clear that I intend to make getting the younger members of your crew meetings with their families my greatest priority in that matter. And as for allowing some of your crew to see what my friend wants to show you, all I ask is that when you depart for that place, you all make sure that none of you are wearing an Earth Forces uniform. I know how proud soldiers are of the uniforms they wear, but this is something of a necessary evil if they wish to see this."

After another minute of silence, Murrue, her fellow officers, Thor, and Steve all gave a bow of thanks to Lord Uzumi for his acceptance of Steve's conditions, and then informed him that they would have Kira report to the Morgenroete facility he would be working in with the Strike at the earliest possible time before they departed.

* * *

Around that same time, the Zala team was going over Orb's official statement in regards to the _Archangel_ , and needless to say, none of them really believed a word of it, but only Yzak was being the most vocal about his disbelief at first, as evidenced by how he continuously ranted and raved about how ridiculous the whole thing was while slamming his fist down on the meeting table they were currently using for what seemed like hours to everyone.

When his friend finally calmed down enough to let someone else talk, Dearka took the chance to give voice to his own disbelief on the matter. "I can't believe they're actually telling us that the Legged Ship has left Orb territory. That's their solution? They're treating us like complete fools! Maybe it's because we have a raw commander," the blonde said in his own little rant.

"Dearka," Nicol immediately snapped in defense of his friend, but that was as far as he could get in his reprimand before Athrun interrupted with his analysis of the situation and in an attempt to stop any other arguments from starting in addition to the one that he was more than likely about to have with Yzak.

"That's irrelevant," Athrun stated, gaining everyone's attention the minute he spoke. "But unfortunately you can't deny that this is Orb's official response. So you can complain all you'd like about how they're a bunch of liars, but it's not gonna change the situation that we're in."

"Say what," Yzak shouted with a scowl.

"If we forced our way in it would only turn into a diplomatic scandal," Athrun finished as though Yzak had not attempted to interrupt.

Yzak just glared at the man he had long since come to consider as a rival, until he finally just scoffed with a mocking smile and said, "Your analysis is impressively rational, Athrun. Oops, _Commander_ Zala."

"Hold on there. Are you saying we have to accept their word and just leave," Dearka interrupted before the two could really get too far into an argument.

"We'll ask Carpentaria to apply some official pressure, but if there's no quick resolution, we'll sneak in," Athrun revealed, gaining a silent pause from his teammates once he had done so. "Does that meet with your approval?"

"To pinpoint the ship's location, right," Nicol asked to make sure he and the others were understanding correctly.

"Yes," Athrun nodded. "Because whatever the situation is, our opponent here is a sovereign nation. We can't take any hasty action against without evidence of some sort."

While it made perfect sense to Nicol and anyone else of a rational mind, not everyone in the room was currently thinking with a calm and rational mind at the moment, as evidenced when Dearka spoke up again. "Look, we can just force our way in. We know the ship's there."

"This is nothing like Heliopolis," Athrun snapped in response before the blonde could go any further on the matter, though his mind had momentarily flashed to his childhood friend and the fiery blonde that he had met on the island who were both no doubt currently in Orb at this very moment. Still, he was able to shake it off and continue on with his reasoning without anyone being the wiser. "With the size of their forces alone, and I don't have to tell you how advanced their military technology is. Officially, they're neutral, but behind the scenes, they are almost as great a cause of concern to us as Wakanda still is."

No one needed reminding of what had happened when Z.A.F.T. had approached Wakanda in the hopes of forming an alliance with the world's greatest supplier of vibranium, which had happened at almost the same time as the Earth Forces' attempt. Needless to say, despite the fact that most of both groups had survived to tell about it, there was no denying that it had been a dark and frightening day for everyone on both sides of the war, since it showed clear as day that the nation that was protected by the Man-Ape and the Black Panther would not be swayed to either side of this war. After shaking off the memory of that terrifying day, Yzak gave a dry chuckle and said, "I'll go along for now, but if it were up to me, we'd be forcing our way in. I can't disagree with the son of Committee Chairman Zala now can I?"

That comment earned both the silver-haired man and Dearka a disapproving look from Nicol as they both moved to depart, clearly showing they were of the same mindset. After pausing at the door for a moment in thought, Yzak found that he had to admit, "Well, sneaking in sounds fun too, and there's always the possibility that I'll finally get a chance to see the faces of the Strike pilot and Captain America, just so that they can see the face of the man who will deliver their just punishment onto them."

While Nicol could only shake his head in disbelief at Yzak's continued show of his intention in becoming the new Punisher, it did not escape his notice how Athrun's eyes had widened a fraction in both shock and concern when Yzak had mentioned seeing the faces of the Strike pilot and Captain America. Nicol probably should not have been that surprised, given the fact that there was a chance that if the Strike pilot was as good out of a mobile suit as he was in one then it would make sense to be worried for Yzak's safety, but part of him could not help but wonder if Athrun was worried for another reason as well. Thinking that he could worry about that later, Nicol just nodded a quick farewell to Athrun and moved to head for his temporary quarters for a while, but the entire time he was doing so, he found that his head was continuously being plagued with thoughts and ideas on the matter regardless.

* * *

When the commanding officers and Thor had returned to the ship, Murrue happily allowed Steve to inform Kira and the others of the fact that Lord Uzumi promised that he would attempt to make it possible for the kids to see their families, along with the possibility of some shore leave, and it was no surprise that just about everyone was very happy to receive this news. Of course, part of Steve was concerned about how Kira had not had as great of a reaction to the news as his friends had, assuming there was really any reaction to it in the boy at all since he had just kept something of a neutral look on his face throughout the matter, but at the moment, he was more concerned with informing the only one of the younger crewmembers who had not been present when he first delivered the news. He supposed that he should not have been all that surprised that Flay was not with the other five at the moment, seeing as the redhead normally spent all of her time off duty either with Kira or in the room that the two were currently sharing, but when he saw that Kira was currently eating alone in the mess hall instead of collecting both his meal and Flay's so that they could eat alone in said room, Steve was naturally a bit worried for the girl.

That was why he now found himself just outside the door to Kira and Flay's room on the ship after he had excused himself from the group once he had informed them of the little trip that he would be bringing them all on to somewhere in Orb. After announcing that he was at the door and receiving a rather dull-sounding response giving him permission to enter, Steve stepped into the room to see Flay looking rather sad about something. Before he could say anything though, Flay immediately said, "I know that it probably seems like I'm slacking off at the moment, Captain Rogers, but I'm currently off duty and just wanted to take a quick nap before returning to my regular training."

Given his past interactions with the redhead, Steve could not fault her for thinking he was here to give her another scolding, so he put a polite smile on his face in an attempt to ease her nerves and said, "I know that, Flay, and since neither one of us is on duty at the moment, you can drop the formalities. Just Cap or Steve is fine if you want." When Flay nodded in thanks for that, and then said that Steve could take a seat if he wanted to, the super soldier carried on saying, "I'm mostly here to inform you that there's a chance that we all might get some shore leave while we're here in Orb, and that you and your friends are more than likely going to get a chance to see your families."

"Oh? That's nice," Flay nodded, but her posture and tone of voice indicated that she was not very thrilled about the news, if at all.

This perked Steve's curiosity and immediately led him to say, "I was under the impression that you were a citizen of Orb like the others. Don't you have anyone you want to see, or even pay a visit to your house?"

"…There's a house here, but no one's living there, waiting for me. My mother died when I was little, and now my dad's gone too," Flay finally revealed, her sadness showing in everyone word.

"I see. I'm sorry for bringing up what I can only assume are…upsetting memories," Steve apologized.

"It's okay," Flay said, but somehow she knew that the super soldier would not believe that little fib of hers.

"Is it really," Steve inquired, proving Flay's suspicions in an instant. "You seem like it's really bothering you, and if not that, then something else is." When he received nothing but silence in reply, Steve eventually said, "I know I probably push you a lot harder than the others, but I'm only trying to show you that military life is not something you can just jump into as easily as you change clothes. It's difficult, hard, and it can often lead to moments that will test and change you as a person, right to the point where you're even questioning everything you stand for, and more than that, it can also lead you to lose more than you gain, be it family, friends, or even loved ones…I should know about that kind of thing."

"I understand that now, Cap, really I do," Flay insisted. "I guess my reasons for joining in the first place were rather childish and selfish, but after everything we've been through, I really do want to make a difference and finally end this stupid war, whatever it takes."

"Whatever it takes to end the war? Not kill the Coordinators," Cap inquired, having picked up on Flay's choice of words. "I was under the impression that, despite what you may claim, you still blamed them all for what happened to your father."

Flay was silent for a minute at that point, until she finally admitted, "I was doing that…but, after spending so much time with Kira, seeing what we have seen, and even training under you with the others, I guess…I started to think a bit more clearly about my beliefs. I'm not saying that I'm completely okay with Coordinators in general now, I'm not sure if my opinion will ever change that much I regards to them, but I'm not blaming all of them for something that a select few had done."

Steve gave her a hard stare, analyzing her every feature as she had spoken, and found that she was being completely honest with him on the matter. Yet at the same time, he could also see that she was still holding something back, and given the one person she had mentioned by name in that speech of hers, he already had a small guess as to what it was that she was not mentioning. "There's something else that's bothering you, isn't there? Something to do with Kira." Though he had phrased it like a question, there was no denying that Cap had meant it as a statement to show Flay that he had no doubt in the matter.

Flay could not deny that matter even if she wanted to, and in short order, she found tears starting to form in her eyes a bit. "I…He's…" she stuttered at first, but she eventually just sighed and came clean. "He's too good for someone like me. I don't think you were ever fooled for a minute, but even if you were, you should know that I was using Kira's feelings for me to make sure he stayed with us, kept us safe, and did whatever it took to kill every Coordinator that came after us." When Steve said nothing in response, Flay took that as confirmation on the matter, and carried on. "When I started out, I had told myself that I was only going to forgive Kira if he fought on and on until he died and got rid of them all, but after a while, I started to…really care about him. I started to learn who he was as a person, not as just another Coordinator. He tends to be a perfectionist, so when he fails in any way it really gets to him. I first saw this after we had landed in the desert, and despite the fact that you had saved the civilian shuttle from being destroyed, he still blamed himself for the fact that he wasn't fast enough to save them himself, feeling like it was his fault they had fallen into danger in the first place. He's also really dedicated to the people he's close to, be it as friends or even just an acquaintance or colleague, which I'm sure you've already noticed given how often you two work together on a battlefield or even how much time you both spend together just talking. I was learning all of this and more about him, until I finally couldn't tell myself that I was just using him anymore, but that I really did care for him, right to the point where I could see just how selfish I was being trying to treat him like some kind of tool that I could use for a petty desire for revenge. How could…how could someone as good as him, as kind as him…how could he really care about someone as selfish as me? How could he…"

At that point, the poor girl could no longer hold it in, and she finally broke down crying, prompting Steve to stand up and move over to her so that he could wrap a comforting arm around her shoulders as she cried into her chest. Admittedly, Steve had known right from the start the Flay had not been entirely sincere in her feelings towards Kira, but after thinking back to some of the past encounters between the two that he had seen, such as how Flay often became jealous whenever she saw Kira spending time with Cagalli, or even how she would sometimes comfort him, he could see that overtime, she had indeed started becoming far more sincere in her feelings for the boy. Knowing this, it only made sense that she would start to break down in this way after finally realizing all this herself, but being someone who was not really that well versed in stable relationships, or even a basic relationship, Steve found that he was not entirely sure what to say in an attempt to cheer her up, so he just sat there and let her cry into his chest while he rubbed her shoulder with the arm he currently had wrapped around her.

After Flay had finally calmed down enough, Steve finally spoke up again though he was mostly just drawing inspiration from what he had seen of other relationships that had unfolded around him among his fellow Avengers and even some other heroes and couples that he had seen in passing. "I know that you probably don't feel like you deserve him, but you both do truly care about each other. If you want him to know that, then you need to come clean with him and be honest with both him and yourself. If you can do that then all that will be left at that point will be what you two decide. It may hurt you both, but whatever happens is up to both you and Kira. I'm sorry if this doesn't make much sense. I've never really had much of a stable relationship myself in the romantic sense."

"No, it does, and I appreciate you trying all the same," Flay sniffed in thanks before drying her tears a little and then giving Steve an honest, grateful smile. That same smile became a little more teasing before she added, "Although, I'd say that the relationship between you and Captain Ramius seems to be going rather well."

Steve just chuckled in response to this small attempt at teasing on the girl's part and replied, "Murrue and I are just really good friends and comrades. Besides, I doubt she would really feel anything like that for someone in my position."

Flay was not able to say anything in response to that before Steve stood up and turned to leave after making sure she would be alright and telling her that she was welcome to join the rest of them on their mystery trip to see whoever Lord Uzumi's friend that wanted to meet him was. She politely turned down the invite of course, feeling that she needed some time to herself to think some things over, and then bid the super soldier farewell for the moment. When Steve was finally gone, Flay found herself whispering, "I'd think the chances of her feeling something for you are probably greater than you give her credit for, Cap."

* * *

While Cap's job following their return from the meeting with Lord Uzumi was probably much more relaxed and enjoyable, Murrue Ramius' was easily considered being much more tedious than anything else. Not only was she going over the meeting in her head a dozen times over in an attempt to think of a way that it could have gone better, but she had to do so while she was filling out her report on the matter as well, hoping that she would be able to show it in as positive a manner as possible. This would probably go much better for Admiral Halberton than it would for her, but it was not made any easier by the fact that Natarle was currently in the room reminding her of many things that she already knew while the XO voiced her own disapproval on the whole thing.

"I'm against it. This country is dangerous," Natarle argued once again, clearly thinking that she would make her point more clear by repeating it who-knew how many times.

"Sure it is, but what do you suggest we do? Should we all get off here and swim to Alaska," Mu rhetorically asked.

"Of course not! That's not what I'm saying at all," Natarle immediately snapped. "I think we should pay for the repairs."

"And they've made it rather clear what their price for the repairs is," Halberton interjected. "Aside from the fact that we're honoring an agreement that already existed, I highly doubt that they would just let us pay for the ship's repairs through conventional means alone. More importantly, how exactly would we pay for the repairs? With what money the crew has in their pockets?" That caused Natarle to pause and think for a minute, leading Halberton to press on. "Even if we did want to go down that route, command would end up coming down on us for using resources needlessly for something that we could've easily done at one of our own ports. It wouldn't matter what type of situation we were in to them, and aside from that…"

"It wouldn't be the end of it," Murrue picked up, drawing the attention to her. "He never mentioned anything about it to us, but I'm sure that Orb is under an enormous amount of pressure from Z.A.F.T., yet they still made the decision to protect us. You realize why, don't you, Natarle?"

Natarle did in fact realize what Murrue was driving at, but that did not make it any easier for her to like it, and at the moment, she was angry enough to feel as though her opinion on the matter was just being ignored simply because everyone else disagreed with her idea of what should be done. At least until the admiral spoke up again. "It's not just Z.A.F.T. that they're under pressure from, as I'm sure that Orb's dealing with a lot of pressure from our superiors and government as well. I'm sure that you all realize that it's no secret that both sides have been trying to convince a number of the neutral nations to side with them in this war in an attempt to achieve some sort of leverage over the other, so naturally it's hard to fault him for wondering if it was right to save us when it would have been easier to let us sink as a show of how strong a stance Orb would take against siding with either the PLANTs or the Earth Forces."

Natarle let herself simmer down a little so that she could fully register the words of both her captain and the admiral, until she finally said, "I understand Admiral, Captain, but I still intend to make a point of bringing this case up in my report for when we reach Alaska."

"Very well," Murrue nodded in consent of this, and then let Natarle leave after she gave a quick salute in farewell for the moment. Murrue knew that Natarle was just doing her job as the ship's XO, but sometimes, it was really hard to keep that type of thing in perspective when dealing with the unique situation that the _Archangel_ was in, especially since Natarle did not seem to recognize the fact that they were indeed in a unique situation that could not be specified in standard regulations and procedures. She was really glad that Halberton was able to help Natarle see such things a little more easily, otherwise, Murrue was not sure she would be able to deal with the by-the-book nature of Natarle Badgiruel.

What Murrue did not know was that Halberton was not the only one helping to deal with that type of thing, because an instant of Natarle had left the captain's quarters, Mu had gone after the XO in an attempt to help appease her anger that was likely still boiling while also get her to see reason on the whole thing. "You've got a list, don't you," Mu joked in an attempt to get Natarle to open up on the conversation.

"What was your first clue," Natarle grumbled.

"You know, regulations and rules are great and all, especially for a ship that's in a standard situation, but if you look back at all the stuff we've been through, it's easy to see that we're not in any type of situation that would be considered normal," Mu pointed out.

"I realize that, but it doesn't mean we can just ignore the regulations and flat out break them just because we don't agree with them, and I doubt saying we're in a unique situation that's not usually covered by that type of thing can really hold water after a while," Natarle argued.

"Maybe, but are you sure that's the only reason you're so upset about this," Mu inquired, getting a look of confusion out of Natarle that was clearly asking him to clarify what he was implying. Mu just gave an easy-going smile and shrugged as he said, "Hey I feel just as bad about doing this to the kid again as you do."

Had Natarle not turned away at just the right moment, Mu would no doubt have noticed the slight dusting of pink that had now reached her cheeks, indicating that he had hit the nail right on the head when he said that. It was not that she was ashamed to admit that she felt bad about putting Kira in such situations, but it was more along the lines of the fact that she did not like treating others as though they were just tools to be used regardless of rank or situation. This feeling, like many of her other personal feelings, was rather difficult for Natarle to admit to, given her upbringing as someone who had been taught to follow everything in a military strictly by the book, but somehow, it still showed through some of the things that she said and did. In the end, she could not stop herself from releasing a tired sigh and putting a hand to her head at the thought of doing this to poor Kira, and that was all the reason Mu needed to reach over and give her a comforting pat on the back in an attempt to ease her nerves a little.

"Stop that Commander. That's harassment," Natarle warned in a tired voice.

Mu immediately jerked back at that remark, honestly surprised to hear such a thing, before he glanced between the second-in-command of the _Archangel_ and his offending hand as he asked, "It is?"

Had he been paying more attention to Natarle herself, Mu might have caught a glimpse of the brief ghost of a playful smile that had reached Natarle's face, indicating that she had been messing with the Hawk of Endymion when she said that, but the two were soon stirred from their shared moment of peace when they saw Captain America approaching them to inform them that it was time to meet with the mystery man that Lord Uzumi had said would want to meet with the super soldier.

* * *

No one was really sure what to expect of this mystery man that wanted to meet with Captain America, according to Lord Uzumi, but none of them were expecting that the person in question would send a number of rather nice sports cars to pick them, each a different color that did not stand out too drastically, and each of which apparently seemed able to drive themselves via an AI that none of them recognized. They were also not entirely expecting the cars that they each got into to take various different routes to their destination, but it was completely understandable if the person was hoping to keep the location and the fact that they had all come from the same place as secret as possible. What they found to be most surprising though, was that their destination ended up being a large factory of some type that showed multiple signs of being abandoned, with a faded logo on the side of the building serving as the only clue that it had, or currently did belong to Stark Solutions.

After climbing out of the various vehicles and looking around for a minute, no one in the group that consisted of Captain America, the new Howling Commandos, Murrue, Natarle, Thor, Logan, and Halberton could figure out why someone would drag them all the way out here to meet with them, or even why there was no one currently in sight at the moment. Looking around for another minute and seeing nobody eventually started to get make some of the group feel a little irritable, but before anyone could say anything in protest, the sound of machinery working drew their attention to what appeared to be a secret elevator that seemed to appear in the wall. "Uh…are we supposed to go in there," Tolle asked.

 **"Yes. Please enter the elevator as quickly as possible,"** a synthesized, female voice replied, making everyone jump a little in response to it. When none of the group made a move towards said elevator, the female voice said, **"I would advise you do so quickly, as some of you are on a bit of a short schedule for this visit."**

Seeing as the voice did have a point in saying that, as Kira did have a short time before he had to leave to transport the Strike to another Morgenroete facility, everyone quickly walked into the rather large elevator and soon found themselves being carried downwards once the doors had closed. When the doors finally opened again, they found themselves being led into a dimly lit room where there was still no one in sight. "Okay, this is starting to get a little old," Mu groaned in clear annoyance. "You'd think our mystery guest would show himself by now."

"Well to be fair, I wanted to keep the suspense up for a little longer," a new, young male voice said in reply. When everyone turned to face the speaker, they were quickly greeted with the face of a young man who did not seem that much older than Kira and his friends, with black hair and blue eyes. He was decked out in a red, short-sleeved shirt, blue pants with red patches on the knees, and red sneakers while a white wrist watch could be seen on his left wrist. The young man just gave a rather friendly, humorous smile at the dumbfounded, shocked looks on everyone's faces before he finally walked over to the red, white, and blue clad member of the group and said, "Captain America, it's an honor to meet you at last. I've heard just about all the stories about you growing up, which would be hard not to hear about since they've been passed down through the family for several generations now."

"Uh…pleasure, son, but do I know you," Steve asked as he exchanged a handshake with the young man, though a part of him felt like it was probably a question that he did not really need to ask, because for some reason, the young man in front of him seemed rather familiar. He just couldn't quite say how.

"No, well, not me personally, but you did know my ancestor," the young man revealed. "Uh, I guess I probably should introduce myself before I completely confuse everyone."

"That would be nice," Natarle muttered, only to get a small elbow to the ribs from Murrue in response to her blatant rudeness.

"Uh, anyway…My name is Anthony Jarvis Stark, CEO of Stark Solutions. My friends call me Tony, or at least they probably would if I had any, but since I spend a lot of time down here…yeah," the young man finally announced, getting dumbstruck and gobsmacked looks from everyone the minute he gave his identity.

"Wait…you mean, _you're_ the mysterious head of Stark Solutions?! But…but you look like you're barely that much older than us," Sai exclaimed.

"Well actually, I'm actually eighteen, and since my parents had died a few years ago, that technically means that I am the acting CEO. I just prefer to keep to the shadows because not a lot of people really tend to take someone seriously when they're as young as me, even if I do have a genius-level intellect," Tony explained. After another minute or so, he eventually admitted, "Also, I just like giving off that air of mystery staying in the shadows tends to give me," Stark explained.

Before anyone could say anything more, Cap suddenly started chuckling, getting everyone's attention as a result. "I can't believe I didn't see it sooner," Steve laughed. "You're practically the spitting image of Tony, minus the facial hair of course."

"Wow, really," Tony asked. "Huh. And here I thought the only thing I had in common with the invincible Iron Man was his first name and nickname. Thanks for that."

"Of course, but I get the feeling you didn't just bring us here so that we could meet the current generation of the Stark family," Steve pointed out.

At that remark, Tony could only smile in what could only have been barely suppressed excitement, and he then motioned for everyone to follow him as he said, "There's actually something I wanted you to see, Cap. I wasn't really expecting you to bring guests along, but that just makes it all the better, to be honest." After leading everyone down the hallway and into another, darkened room, Tony looked up and said, "Jocasta, lights on please. Let's show it all off."

 **"Right away, Mister Stark,"** the now-identified AI replied, and an instant later, everyone other than Tony was forced to shield their eyes from the intensity of the lights as they came on. When their eyes eventually readjusted though, no one found that they could stop themselves from gasping in awe at the sight before them.

"Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to the Hall of Avengers," Tony announced as he spread his arms wide in a show of grand display, which was certainly more than appropriate given what they were all seeing. Everywhere the _Archangel_ crewmembers looked in the very large, and expansive room that they had entered, they could see some form of equipment or costume that had been used by a member of the legendary team of heroes from the Twenty First Century, and given the wear and tear that could be seen in some of the various items, there was very little doubt that most of these objects were not just replicas. From Black Widow's wrist shooters and electro-batons, to Ant-Man's Pym Particle Disks and actual suit, to even the items and suits that had been used by heroes such as Daredevil, Luke Cage, and Spider-Man, and in one display case, the group even saw what appeared to be some of Captain America's old suits, excluding the one he currently wore of course. In some instances, there were a few items that were clearly just duplicates of the actual items, such as a model of Thor's hammer that the Asgardian had to admit was actually a rather accurate replica, at least in the case of appearances.

After glancing around for a minute, Logan had to pause in shock when he saw a set of displays that held the various suits and equipment of his old teammates from the X-Men, along with a familiar, old and battered wheelchair. "Are these actually…where did you find these," Logan inquired of the young Stark.

"A trusted friend found what was left of all that in the ruins of the X-Mansion after it was abandoned. I didn't want to just leave any of it there so I had him bring it all here. I wanted to restore Professor Xavier's wheelchair to its original condition, but part of me couldn't help but feel like it wouldn't have been something that the Professor would've been okay with," Tony admitted.

Logan looked back at the display for a minute in silence, until he eventually ran his hand over the old wheelchair that had once been used by his dear, old friend and finally whispered, "Thank you. Chuck would've appreciated you keeping it safe no matter what."

"Just what is this place anyway, and why is it here," Tolle finally asked, voicing the question everyone was wondering.

"I guess you could call it a memorial of sorts," Tony explained. "You see, around the end of that age in the Twenty First Century, during the final stages of the Ultimate Battle of Heroes, my ancestor, Tony Stark, the first and original Iron Man started gathering up all the old equipment and items that had been used by his fellow heroes and collecting it all in here, or at least a similar setting to this place, feeling that the world was always going to need heroes. The idea that drove him to do this was that if anyone were to take up the mantles of any of these heroes, or just needed some form of great inspiration in order to achieve the same greatness that these heroes had, they would have a place where they could look back and draw inspiration from. After all, he learned from the one person who knows better than anyone else how much of a great teacher history can be."

Steve could not help but smile a little in fond remembrance of the various times he had to remind Tony of that very lesson in one way or another, and he was glad to see that his friend had taken it to heart in such a magnificent way, until eventually, his attention was called back to the current matter at hand when Kira pointed out one display in particular. "Who's this display for," Kira inquired, indicating a display that housed a familiar red and black suit with a large backpack that made Steve's smile of nostalgia grow a little more when he recognized it.

"Well, I'd tell you myself, but I think Jocasta would like to shine a little on this, even if she can make it sound a bit more boring than it actually is," Tony replied with a wave of his hand.

 **"The current display that you are viewing is dedicated to Samuel Thomas "Sam" Wilson, better known in history as Falcon. A former paratrooper of the United States Air Force, Sam Wilson left his retirement to aid Captain America in saving the world during Captain Rogers' first encounter with the Winter Soldier, which eventually led him to assist Captain America, Black Widow, S.H.I.E.L.D. Deputy Director Maria Hill, and S.H.I.E.L.D. Director Nicholas Fury in stopping the terrorist organization HYDRA from using the operation dubbed Project Insight to secure rule of the world. He later went on to aid Captain America in retrieving Winter Soldier, who was revealed to be Rogers' supposedly deceased friend, James "Bucky" Barnes, and also being a full-time partner to the first Avenger before he eventually joined the second team of Avengers and later the Secret Avengers that Captain America had formed in a response to the Sokovia Accords."**

"Wow," Kira breathed in awe of what he had just heard, and a simple glance from Steve immediately told the super soldier that Kira had most definitely found his favorite display in this place.

After everyone had taken a few more minutes to look around the place, Thor brought everyone's attention to the only flaw in the Hall of Avengers. "I do not see a display for your ancestor, Iron Man."

At that point, Tony could not stop himself from sheepishly rubbing the back of his neck when he said, "Yeah…that one is actually pretty big, so it kinda has an entire wing to itself."

"Come on. How big could it be," Mu asked in disbelief.

"See for yourself," Tony challenged, and he immediately began leading the group to another room. Once inside, everyone saw exactly just how big the aforementioned wing was and the reason for its size as well. In reality, the wing that was dedicated to Iron Man was actually a large, circular room that was lined with every single suit of Iron Man armor that there had ever been in history, including the forty two armors that had been destroyed during and after the armored Avenger's encounter with A.I.M., and each variation of the War Machine armor as well. Seeing the various, familiar suits of armor made Steve feel even more nostalgic, as he even saw what he could only assume were reproductions of the first seven armors, including the Mark VII armor that Tony Stark had used when the Avengers had first formed and fought against Loki and the Chitauri, and the Mark I armor that Tony had designed when he was captured by terrorists, and he could tell that it was also making everyone feel rather excited at seeing all these various armors that had been created and worn by Iron Man over the years of his heroic career.

"So do you have a fancy name for this place as well," Halberton asked.

"Well sort of. I tend to vary between calling it the Armory and the Hall of Armors," the young Stark admitted.

"Well I guess we now know another reason why you prefer to keep yourself in the shadows: so you can moonlight at being a hero like your ancestor had," Natarle suggested.

Tony immediately cringed a little in response before he said, "Well…as much as I would like to do that, I actually can't so I don't."

"Why not? Do the armors not work for you the way you want them to," Miriallia asked.

"Kind of. It's actually more like…well, it'd be easier and a bit less embarrassing if I just showed you," Tony stated, and he then asked Jocasta to lower one of the armors to the same level as the group. A minute later, the Mark XLII armor that had faithfully served as Iron Man's main armor during his fight against A.I.M. was standing before everyone in all of its glory, right next to Tony Jarvis Stark, and it did not take anyone long to see what one of the problems behind this Stark being Iron Man was.

"You're not big enough to fit in the suit, are you," Murrue asked in mild surprise.

"Well, no, but it's also because I don't feel like I deserve to wear one of these suits yet. Anthony Edward Stark may have been a lot things that you can't really be proud of, but he was still a good man who remade himself to be a hero to the world, so until I can really prove to myself that I can do just as much good as him, I'm probably not going to wear any Iron Man armor…well that or until I finally build my own suit that can actually fit," Tony admitted.

"I thought that the Iron Man suits were able to readjust themselves to fit anyone," Steve inquired.

"The minimum capabilities of that only extends to the size and body type of an average human adult, not a young man who's barely even twenty years old," Tony explained. "If it could adjust to fit all sizes, then I'd be amazed that some small kid had never worn any of these suits."

"So there's absolutely no way for you to use any of these armors yourself," Mu asked.

"Well I never said that," Tony smirked in reply. He then turned his gaze to the Mark XLII, and Steve could have sworn he saw the boy's eyes flash with what looked like blue coding lines before the suit suddenly started up its jet boots. An instant later, it was flying around the room in a way that could not have possibly been done through simple autopilot controls, and all it took was a small glance between the young man and the armor for everyone to start putting two and two together. "You see, sometime during the later points in his life, Anthony Edward Stark injected himself with a modified version of the Extremis serum that was developed by Doctor Maya Hansen, which basically made him Iron Man inside and out. The serum gave him the ability to mentally interface with all forms of digital technology and computers, which extended to the point where he could even see things through the satellites in Earth's orbit. The main thing that it was used for though, at the time, was to improve his control over the various Iron Man armors he had developed and the Iron Legion, so that he did not always have to rely solely on an AI working an autopilot system to control them, even going so far as to allow him to suit up without even touching the necessary controls on any suit of armor or giving a verbal command. This is really the closest I can get to being Iron Man myself at the moment."

"So does everyone in the Stark family have that ability," Natarle asked in full intrigue of this incredible ability.

"No. After the original Iron Man, the ability really only surfaced every few generations or so. I just happened to be one of the lucky few who ended up getting it," Tony replied.

"It's okay, I guess, but it's not that much more impressive than a typical puppet show if you ask me," Mu commented. That drew a small smirk from the young Stark, and his eyes then flashed with blue coding once again just before the Mark XLII suddenly started moving towards Mu. Before the Hawk of Endymion could even think of running away after he realized that the armor was coming towards him, the suit suddenly broke apart into its various components and started to form around the blonde commander.

"I'd probably raise your leg up a little in a minute," Tony advised Mu as some of the armor for said appendage started flying to Mu's leg, but his warning came a little too late, and Mu ended up being thrown off his feet the minute that the armor reached his leg. Thankfully a burst from the repulsors in the armor's palms saved him from face-planting on the floor, but it was still an amusing sight to everyone else in the room. Eventually, the only piece left of the armor was the helmet's faceplate, which was hovering in midair facing towards Mu as if challenging him.

"Oh no. Come on not the face," Mu pleaded, but Stark just smirked in reply and sent the faceplate flying towards Mu at full speed until it spun around into an upside down position, while Mu was thrown into the air in a similar direction. A minute later, the faceplate clamped into place on the armor, and Mu found himself landing in the iconic pose of the armored Avenger. "Whoa," was the only thing that the Hawk of Endymion could think of to say in response to what had just happened.

"Just because I can't wear the armor doesn't mean I can't send one of the suits to someone else for their protection," Tony informed him. "Of course, control of the suit is still tied into my mind so that it doesn't lead to the person inside the suit doing something to hurt themselves anymore than they probably already are, so…"

"Yeah, that's nice and all, kid, but would you mind letting me up now? This is getting to be a bit uncomfortable," Mu interrupted, and that's when Tony realized that he had accidentally locked Mu into the Iron Man pose after forming the suit around him.

"Oops. Sorry about that," Tony quickly apologized as he commanded the armor to disengage from Mu.

"No worries. It was actually kind of fun getting to be in that suit for a bit," Mu admitted.

"Well don't get any ideas," Tony warned, prompting La Flaga to raise his hands up in casual surrender to show he understood completely what the young man meant by that remark.

"This is all very impressive, Stark, but I doubt that you just brought us down here to show us all of this, or how well a job you've done keeping it all safe and in good condition," Steve remarked.

At that point, Tony's face fell into a much more serious expression as he revealed, "I wish it were just for that reason, Cap, but there are other reasons as well. Like I said before, the world always needs heroes, but it definitely needs the kind of heroes that were around back in the days of the Avengers more than ever now. While I've been acting as the caretaker of this place and running the family company, I've also been looking over all the different events and goings-on of the world, including the stuff that certain individuals would rather keep under wraps."

"What kind of things are we talking about," Halberton inquired.

"Things like Z.A.F.T.'s preparations and plans for their next big offensive operation, which I keep hearing them refer to as Operation: Spitbreak, and a number of the more extreme Blue Cosmos terrorist actions that the Earth Forces don't want to be made public, especially in the case of the Atlantic Federation."

"I'm sorry, did you just say," Natarle started to demand.

"I first hacked into their databases when I was like five years old, and Jocasta and I have been doing so a bit more often recently just so I could confirm that I wasn't seeing things after that very first incident," Tony interrupted, clearly feeling that what he had to say on the matter was more important than any objections to his methods of discovering the information. "It turns out that the head honcho of Blue Cosmos holds a significant seat of power in the Atlantic Federation's government, and as a result, he's able to easily cover up any actions the terrorist group takes that would make the people turn against them and their so-called 'fight' against the 'vile space invaders' and 'evil Coordinators.' The things I've seen them carry out and then cover up would probably get everyone to see Blue Cosmos as the scum they really are, even to the point where some would even associate them in the same category as HYDRA. I'm talking about bombing an entire financing building that had knowingly hired one or two Coordinators, to setting a small business that was run by a man who's wife was a Coordinator on fire. Of course, since I don't really make my identity known to the public, I can't really bring any of these things to light personally, no matter how much hard evidence I may have, and even then, there's no chance they would actually stop if there's a way for them to get around their punishment."

"I think I can see what you're getting at," Steve suddenly interrupted in an understanding tone. "You want me to help you stop these various different events from occurring while I'm here, be it Z.A.F.T.'s preparations for Operation: Spitbreak or these Blue Cosmos attacks that the larger public doesn't know about."

"Pretty much, yeah," Tony nodded. "I know it's a lot to ask, but I can't do anything just yet, even with my mental control over the Iron Man armors, which has a bit of a limit on its range unless I want to risk giving myself a serious migraine that could end up turning me into a vegetable if I'm not careful, so if you don't want to help, I'll completely understand and…"

"I'll do it," Steve interrupted, surprising everyone present.

"Really," Tony asked in surprise.

"Yes, but I doubt I can really do that much to help with this alone. After all, a soldier is only as good as his team," Steve clarified. He then turned to face said team and said, "I'm not going to ask any of you to help me with this if you don't want to, especially since this will be a real test of the skills and abilities that I've taught you all. In the end, the final decision on this is down to you."

Kira and his friends all looked between themselves before they all nodded in agreement, some more hesitantly than others, and allowed the mobile suit pilot of their group to say, "We're in, Cap."

"Are you sure about that," Steve asked. "You really think you'll be willing to follow Captain America into the jaws of death itself?"

"No, we're not following Captain America. We're following our friend and commanding officer who won't give up and run when there's something worth fighting for," Kira clarified.

Hearing the young man say this immediately drew Steve to think back to a time when his old friend, Bucky had said something similar to him when he had asked his friend a similar question. Hearing Kira practically repeating those words to him now, and seeing that it was a sentiment that was shared by everyone in the room brought a small smile of pride and happiness to Steve's face. Still, he had to give them one last word of caution, and quickly said, "I'm just making sure you've considered all of your options, because, to paraphrase what Falcon had once said to me, people who shoot at me usually wind up shooting at anyone who's working with me too."

"That doesn't really seem all that different from what we've already dealt with just from being on the _Archangel_ to be honest," Miriallia shrugged in reply. "The only real problem will be getting me a replacement weapon, seeing as there's not likely to be much of a chance that I'll be able to repair my rifle before our first mission."

"I think I can help with that," Tony stated with a small, knowing smile, as he had in fact noticed how Miriallia's gaze had lingered more on one particular display in the Hall of Avengers more than any other earlier.

Seeing as there was really nothing more that could be said on the matter, everyone soon dispersed into small groups so that they could either explore and examine more of the Hall of Avengers, or just so they could start discussing plans for the missions that Stark would eventually be sending the Howling Commandos on. Surprisingly, Natarle had voiced no objections to loaning the group of soldiers to such a task, but when this was brought up to her, she easily explained that she was no fan of Blue Cosmos herself and she would rather see the group be dealt with before letting it do whatever it wanted, even if she was having a hard time believing the terrorist group had gained a position of authority in the military and government that she had sworn her life to. This continued on until they all started to disperse for the day, starting with Kira, who left to move the Strike to the Morgenroete facility he would be working at for most of his stay in Orb, and eventually ending with Steve, Murrue, and Tony. The two captains would later get a bit of teasing for the fact that they were last ones to return to the ship, but the two would just ignore most of it, as they both found that they had ended up enjoying the fact that they had spent such time alone in the company of one another to really let it get to them.

* * *

 ** _AN: So stuff happened here, huh? How much of it were you not expecting? Go on, be honest._**

 ** _AXL999: I'm glad we finally got this story's version of Stark into the story, and while it's kind of a let-down that he's not Iron Man yet, at least the possibility of him becoming Iron Man at some point is still in there._**

 ** _AN: Yeah, speaking of which, I know that this story's Stark's name is not all that original, but somehow, having a Stark in this story that wasn't named Tony just felt a little weird to me, so I just went and gave the guy Iron Man's first name, but still made just different enough to still show he's a different character. Speaking of characters, the idea behind Anthony "Tony" Jarvis Stark is actually based a bit around the version of Tony Stark from the animated series Iron Man: Armored Adventures in which Iron Man and his friends were all teenagers. It's a really great series that should've gotten another season if you haven't seen it, so I'd recommend going to check it out next time you have a chance._**

 ** _The whole having a modified version of Extremis in his system that made could make him Iron Man inside and out if the suits fit him was actually something that was inspired both by that same show and the comics, namely the Invincible Iron Man: Extremis story._**

 ** _AXL999: Are we ever going to see Tony armor up and become Iron Man in this story?_**

 ** _AN: In this story, specifically, no probably not, but in the sequel or even a future story that follows after this one...there's probably a good chance._**

 ** _AXL999: Don't forget about the whole matter on the Hall of Avengers._**

 ** _AN: Right, that was an idea that we came up with at random one day when we were trying figure out a way that some of the characters could gain something of an upgrade._**

 ** _AXL999: I think it would be more appropriate to say that it would give them a MARVEL make-over, which basically means that some of them will end up assuming the identities of certain Marvel heroes._**

 ** _AN: Well, yeah, I suppose you could say that, if you wanted to. You may have a few ideas as to which Gundam SEED characters will assume which mantles based on what's happened in this story so far, or even just from this chapter alone, but otherwise, we can neither confirm nor deny any suspicions that you may have on who will become who until we actually reach the chapter that sees said character assuming that mantle, unofficially or otherwise._**

 ** _AXL999: Real quick, should they take that to mean that Mu La Flaga is now going to become the new Iron Man until Tony does, since he had been forced into the armor for a bit?_**

 ** _AN: Heck no, that's crazy talk. Mu will end up assuming a Marvel mantle, but it will NOT be Iron Man. It will actually be something much more appropriate given the direction his character tends to go in the Gundam SEED series. To say otherwise would be like saying that Pepper will become Iron Woman just because she had worn the armor for a brief time in Iron Man 3...okay that might not be the best example since she actually does gain an armored alter-ego in the comics by the name of Rescue, but that's not really the same thing...I'm gonna shut up now and just let you all move Onto the Preview for next chapter._**

 ** _AXL999: That'd probably be a good idea..._**

 ** _The Commandos' first mission for Tony Stark sees them flying off to Malibu California so that they can eliminate one of the locations where Blue Cosmos has been stockpiling weapons and performing specific weapons research. Just what is it that the heroes of the_** **Archangel _will find in this first of many bases, and how will they fare in their first operation outside of a battle with mobile suits and their ship? Only time will tell if the special equipment and fancy toys that Stark supplies them will tell for certain if they will achieve success. Next time on Shield of the Cosmic Era…_ Chapter 13: Re-Armed for New Challenges _. Prepare yourselves for the battles that lie ahead Gundam and Captain America!_**

 ** _Please read and review, and I'll see you next time, Gundam believers!_**


	13. Re-Armed for New Challenges

_**AN: [humming] da-da-dun-da-du-dun. Finding trouble, never looking too hard~. dah-da-da, dah-da-du. But some things ya gotta learn in this...tough times~ hard climbs~ We'll take 'em on together~ Right now. Let's go! Da-da-duh, dun-dun. Dun-da-dah, dun. Game on~, Getcha your game on~! Come on, ya better play your cards right~!**_

 ** _AXL999: [trying to get AN's attention] lyoko...lyokoMARVEL...lyokoMARVELanime!_**

 ** _AN: Hm? What?_**

 ** _AXL999: Not really the best song to be humming when we're about to start the next chapter of this story._**

 ** _AN: Wait we are? [looks to audience] Oh, we are! Hey, everybody, lyokoMARVELanime and AXL999 here, welcoming you to..._**

 ** _AXL999: The long awaited next chapter of Shield of the Cosmic Era!_**

 ** _[audience applause]_**

 ** _So what took so long this time, lyokoMARVELanime?_**

 ** _AN: Well, lots of things, actually. One thing being that I had actually just finished up the Gundam SEED Prime Trilogy, and I wanted to take a bit of a break of all things Gundam, Transformers, or both for a little bit after all of that._**

 ** _AXL999: Yeah, I hear ya, and congrats on finally finishing that!_**

 ** _AN: Thanks dude. Anyways, there were a bunch of other things that happened as well, but I don't want to bore any of you with that. Short version is that life happened. Well that, and I had a bit of computer trouble, but it's all good now._**

 ** _AXL999: Hey, do you want to answer some reviews before we get into things?_**

 ** _AN: Well...I suppose there's one or two we can answer. Let's see...well a lot of you made some pretty interesting guesses on who in the Cosmic Era are going to become the new generation of Avengers or heroes that are part of the Avengers. Let me just clear up some things right now: Mu is_ not _going to be the new Falcon. That's going to be someone else. Someone actually did guess right as to who that would be, but I'm not saying who just yet._**

 ** _AXL999: Also, we have something of a plan in regards to Doctor Doom and Latveria, we actually have something in mind for that which you will discover later on down the line. Is there anything else we can say in response to the reviewers right now?_**

 ** _AN: I don't think so...So, let's get on with the adventure!...I said, let's get on with the adventure!...Oh, don't tell me._**

 ** _Stagehand: Sorry boss, but the automatic controls for starting the stories are out again. You're gonna have to use..._**

 ** _AN: No, no, no! Don't say it!_**

 ** _Stagehand: The manual controls._**

 ** _Yzak: You mean, these manual controls? [grins evilly as he points to the two levers that are the manual controls]_**

 ** _AN: Yzak, don't you dare pull the wrong lever on purpose._**

 ** _Yzak: Pull the wrong lever on purpose? Okay, I guess I'll just pull-oops! [pulls the wrong lever anyway]_**

 ** _AN: [gets catapulted through the air and into ice water before resurfacing in a block of ice]_**

 ** _AXL999: Uh, lyokoMARVEL, are you okay?_**

 ** _AN: [mutters through the ice] yeah...Yzak gonna pay later._**

 ** _Captain America: Uh...I'll just do the disclaimer now before anything else happens._**

 ** _Neither lyokoMARVELanime or AXL999 own anything from any of the Gundam or MARVEL franchises or any other franchise mentioned in this story._**

* * *

 **Chapter 13: Re-Armed for New Challenges**

Kira's trip to Morgenroete allowed him to drop off the Strike not only so that its combat data could be extracted, but also so that it could receive a full battery of repairs that it could not have received from the _Archangel_ crew despite their best efforts. He was glad for this, but that did not change the fact that he still had to do some work for Morgenroete while he and the ship were there, and he was not that big a fan of what he had to do either. Shortly after meeting with the senior engineer of Morgenroete, Erica Simmons, Kira got a look at the mobile suits that Orb was developing to act as the protectors of his home nation, and later on, the performance of the machines when piloted by their three best pilots. Needless to say, no one was impressed at the display, and Kira was easily reminded of the state of the Strike's capabilities before he had re-modified its OS. It was for that exact reason that Kira's assistance had been requested as part of the payment for the repairs that Orb would be giving the _Archangel_ during its stay: Erica wanted him to develop a support OS that would allow anyone to pilot the machines, known as M1 Astrays, and be able to achieve the same level of ability that the Strike possessed.

When she heard about this, Cagalli was not pleased, to say the least. She had not been a fan of Orb developing mobile suits to begin with, since she felt that her father was betraying her nation's ideals in doing so, but she was even less thrilled by the fact that her friend was being used to make those machines stronger at all. Of course, that attitude had earned quite the slap afterwards, but then again, that was most likely more due to the fact that her father was more upset about her running away to Heliopolis and never doing anything to let him know that she was alive after what had happened to said colony, but it still did not stop her from being upset about the whole thing, which was why she was now storming through the underground facility in the hopes of finding Kira. She was not planning to scold him for agreeing to help, she knew just as well as everyone else that he did not really have much choice if he wanted his friends to continue to be safe while they were on the _Archangel_ , but she did want to know the truth about how he felt in regards to all that had happened recently.

After looking around for a few minutes and not seeing him, Cagalli soon decided that she should see if Kira was at the Strike, seeing as he did spend a lot of his time outside of Commandos training and meals in the cockpit of the machine while they were in the desert and out at sea. Upon getting up onto the walkway and looking down into the cockpit, she did see that someone was in the Strike, but that person was not dressed in the blue and white Earth Forces uniform she had always seen Kira wearing, but instead in the basic work jumpsuit that Murdoch and a number of Morgenroete engineers all wore. Of course, something else about this individual drew her attention, and that was the way he was working on the keyboard that was used to modify and maintain the Strike's systems and main OS. "Wow, I can't believe how fast you're typing," the blonde complimented.

When the person glanced up to see who had spoken, Cagalli was a little surprised at the fact that it actually _was_ Kira who was doing all of that work, and it all made a lot more sense as to how he was able to work that quickly. "I was wondering who was in the Strike, but I suppose I should've known it'd be you, Kira. I guess I should've guessed this is where you would be when I was looking for you, too."

"Yeah, they said it would be wise not to wear a military uniform while working here," Kira shrugged. He soon gained a small smile that could likely have been considered teasing and asked, "Listen, isn't it unusual for a real princess to hang out in a place like this?"

"Excuse me," Cagalli retorted with an indignant look, immediately telling Kira that his teasing was working. "Don't me a princess or even think of me as one. You don't know how much I hate being called that."

Kira just continued smiling, only this time it was more knowingly than teasing, as he said, "But now, everything makes sense. That's why you were at the Morgenroete facility on Heliopolis."

Cagalli did not say anything for a minute, but she did adopt a more subdued expression by the time she spoke up again. "Now you know," Cagalli confirmed. "I'd heard rumors that Morgenroete was helping the Earth Forces manufacture mobile suits at Heliopolis. I approached my father about it, but he kept changing the subject. That's when I knew I had to go and find out for myself."

"And then you found out," Kira finished. "But your father…uh, Chief Representative Athha really didn't know anything about that, did he?"

"That's what a lot of people on the inside say, but my father has never actually denied knowing about it," Cagalli revealed, drawing Kira's attention away from his work completely. "He said it didn't really matter because…everything that happened in the nation was his responsibility, and that was that. I used to believe my father…"

Kira was not really sure what to say in response to that, but he still felt like he had to try and say something in order to cheer her up a little. Just as he was about to though, they both overheard a couple of workers talking about the state of the Strike, and a lot of the things they were saying were not all that kind to say the least. When Cagalli asked if he had heard that, Kira just brushed it off and climbed out of the cockpit so that he could take a short break, and the blonde was soon following after him shortly afterwards. After stopping at a vending machine and grabbing a soda for the blonde, Kira decided to pick up where their conversation had left off, but figured it would be on a slightly lighter note.

"So is that why joined the Desert Dawn? You ran away because you were fed up," Kira asked as he handed over the canned drink to his friend.

Cagalli nodded in both confirmation of Kira's question and thanks for the drink that she just accepted from him, and went on to explain a little more details about said decision. "My father used to tell me that I had no idea what goes on in the world, so I went to see for myself."

"What that's it," Kira questioned as he retrieved a drink for himself, honestly surprised by the simplicity of that reasoning.

Cagalli just shrugged and added, "In the desert, everyone I met fought desperately. I mean, their land is just a pile of sand, and yet they still fought tooth-and-nail for it. Then I think of Orb. See, with all this power and the things that we can do, we still want to be pals with both the PLANTs and the Earth Forces. Doesn't that seem sleazy? Is that the right thing to do?"

Kira could understand where she was coming from in saying this. In Cagalli's eyes, trying to work with both sides of this war was like helping to make the war even worse than it already was, but there was still one problem that Kira could see with this thought process. "Would you rather fight, Cagalli," he asked.

That question had caught Cagalli off guard for a minute, but she was quick to regain herself and reply. "All I want is to bring the war to an end."

"We all do, but it's…just fighting won't end the war. I kinda doubt it. It's too easy," Kira pointed out.

Cagalli merely hummed in reply to that, seeing that Kira had a point in what he said, and then just let the matter drop there for now. She was honestly more curious about something else she had on her mind in regards to Kira and the rest of the _Archangel_ team. "So who was it that had asked to meet Captain America anyway? I heard my father said that it was not a condition for Orb lending their services to you guys, and that Cap was only going to meet with them if you and some of the others went along with him, but I didn't find out who it was."

Kira had to smile a little when he replied, "I'm not sure you'd believe me even if I told you."

"Try me," Cagalli dared.

Kira let that hang for a minute before he replied, "It was actually the CEO of Stark Solutions himself, and he showed us this amazing room that was filled with the old tools and equipment that was used by the superheroes and Avengers from the Twenty First Century, along with a room that contained all of the Iron Man armors."

"You went to see Stark," Cagalli asked in surprise.

"Yeah. Have you ever met him?"

Cagalli gained a small look of irritation at that, but she quickly wiped it away and replied, "I met him at some political function once. The kind of thing where a bunch of leaders all get together with several industrial leaders and it was pretty obvious he had no idea how to charm a woman. It's not that he did not try and was some kind of creep or anything, but his attempts to flirt with me were so pathetic and obvious that it practically screamed that he had either very little or absolutely no social experience at the time. When I finally slapped him, it was not because I was insulted or disgusted by him, it was just to get him to stop before he embarrassed himself or said something that would lead to that. Afterwards, we had a couple of conversations, and…well I wouldn't say we're best friends or anything, but we do like hanging out together and airing our grievances to one another."

"Well at least you can say that you know someone besides the friends you would typically make from being Lord Uzumi's daughter," Kira pointed out. Cagalli gave a silent acknowledgement to that point, so Kira just continued on with what he was saying before. "After showing us all of that stuff, he told us that he wanted to expose and stop some of the more serious acts of Blue Cosmos while also doing whatever he could to slow down or cripple a major Z.A.F.T. offensive, but he needed some help in doing so since he can't do it himself. Cap was quick to agree and the rest of us said we'd help as well."

"Don't you think it'll be a little risky to go after Blue Cosmos and Z.A.F.T. like that," Cagalli asked.

"Stark said he'd have some special tech for us to use so that no one realizes who we are right away, assuming that we take on a mission that poses that kind of risk. He didn't really say what it was though, but that was mostly because he didn't have all of it ready yet. Cap said that we should probably expect him to have finished it all by the time he gives us our first mission," Kira explained. Cagalli would have questioned him on that had they not both heard an odd beeping start going off. The minute it had started, Kira immediately reached into one of his pockets and retrieved a device that looked like a very fancy smartphone with the Stark Solutions logo on the back, and the minute he had it in his hands, Cagalli was able to see an emblem that looked like the Avengers logo flashing on the screen. "And it looks like that we might be having that mission now," Kira continued from where he left off. Upon answering the device, he saw that he had a received a text message that confirmed just what he had suspected, and he quickly pocketed the smartphone before throwing away his finished drink. "Looks like my break is going to be a little longer than I thought."

"I'll let Miss Erica know that you had to take off, if you want," Cagalli reassured Kira.

"Thanks," Kira nodded, and he immediately raced off so that he could meet up with the others at the Hall of Avengers for the briefing on their first mission for Tony Stark.

As she watched him go, Cagalli silently sent a few wishes of good fortune to him in the hopes that he and his friends would be able to get through their assignment and come back in one piece. She knew full well that whatever Stark was asking them to do was likely going to be dangerous and involved either what he had learned about Blue Cosmos or something else, so she knew that there was a great risk involved for whatever it could be. That was not to say that she thought that Stark would throw them into a seriously dangerous situation that they were not able to handle or even ready for yet, but that still did not change the fact that it was likely going to be something that would probably test the skills they had acquired up until now, and Cagalli knew that they would need every edge they could get if they were to get through this. She just had to hope that they would all make it through safely.

* * *

It did not take much trouble for Kira to secure a ride to the Hall of Avengers, seeing as Stark had once again sent a ride to where everyone who was involved in the mission was currently located, and soon enough, Captain America and the new Howling Commandos were all gathered in the vast underground room full of equipment and attire worn by the Avengers and other heroes from that point in history. To be more specific, they were gathered together in a control room that Stark used to keep an eye on both the security of the facility and many events as they happened throughout the world, which made it safe to say that this was likely going to serve as their mission briefing room for a while. Kira was only able to exchange a brief nod with his friends and Cap before he was hurried into a seat and the briefing began.

"I know this probably won't seem like much, but I figured it would be better to start you guys off small after hearing what Cap and the _Archangel_ 's commanding officers told me about your team's capabilities," Stark started as he brought up three-dimensional schematics of what looked to be an old office building of some type on a holo-monitor. "What you're all looking at is one of the old office buildings that belonged to the company that became the leading source of weapons manufacturing after Stark Industries pulled out of that area of industry, Hammer Industries; namely the one that's located in Malibu, California. The company had not been viewed in the best of lights since the CEO, Justin Hammer, enlisted the services of Ivan Vanko, alias Whiplash, to design something that could either equal or surpass the abilities of the Iron Man armor, allowing said terrorist to unleash a number of hostile attack drones on the populace at the Stark Expo of 2010, but that does not mean that all of its facilities were ever completely closed off or shut down. This has made such facilities perfect for Blue Cosmos to stockpile weapons and perform a specific variety of weapons research; most notably, the kind of research that the Atlantic Federation won't or can't do on the books without damaging their 'good' image."

"Uh…what kind of weapons research would that be," Kuzzey asked, voicing the nervousness that everyone other than Captain America and Mu were feeling at hearing that.

"The kind that would cause mass-destruction and entail serious casualties to both the researchers and civilian life," Tony swiftly replied with a scowl, and it did not take an expert on reading people or emotions to figure out how the younger Commandos were reacting to that news. "One of the most notable armaments that I've read about them researching is a way to work around the effects of the Neutron-Jammers that are buried beneath the Earth, and I doubt I need to tell you why they're trying to do that. There's also one other project they've been working on, which they intend to deploy to the Alaska Base once its finished, but I've been unable to determine what it was due to the security encryption levels around the project. You're mission is to infiltrate this facility, destroy or disable the weapons and their research and development centers, and bring back whatever data you can find on this secret project of theirs."

"Sounds simple enough," Sai shrugged in response, thinking that this would not be too hard.

"Don't be so sure of that, Sai. Nothing sounds too hard in the mission briefing," Steve cautioned, and considering it was Captain America who said this, no one was willing to argue. Unfortunately, that also brought the room into a very deadly silence as well, almost as though no one was willing to say anything else for the rest of the briefing.

Eventually, Tolle found the courage to break the silence when he pointed out a crucial fact. "You do know that some of us still need some new equipment, right, and I'm pretty sure not all of us are going to be very much help here."

"You're right about that, at least somewhat," Mu nodded. "The fighting styles, tactics, and even some of the equipment you guys have used up until now may have been good in a straight up fight like the ones that we've been in ever since we all came down to Earth, but on a stealth mission like this, it will be a hindrance."

"I've got all of that covered," Tony revealed with a smile. He then turned towards his computer and said, "Jocasta, let's show 'em their new toys."

After getting a word of confirmation from the AI, a nearby wall opened up to reveal a hidden case that had a line-up of suits that greatly resembled the basic SHIELD uniforms that were used in the Twenty-First Century. The only difference that they could see here was that the uniforms were all very heavily modified to suit the needs of each member of the New Howling Commandos, based on the utility belts and packs that they could see that were adorned with all the necessary equipment for each of their specific fields, be it hacking, explosives, or anything else. In place of the circular-eagle that was SHIELD's emblem and badge, they could all see the Avengers logo in dark silver, making it blend into the suit quite a bit, but not to the point where it was not completely unnoticeable.

Seeing the stunned yet still somewhat confused looks on the faces of most of the group, Stark just smirked with pride as he walked over and began explaining some of the details regarding the suits that the group was looking at. "First thing that we need to discuss is your new uniforms for while you're carrying out these missions. As you can see, these new generation SHIELD-Tech suits are heavily based on the original ones that were used by most of said organization's field agents, while also having a few additions that were used by specialized groups such as the S.T.R.I.K.E. Team. Unlike those old uniforms, these are keyed to each of your biometrics so that no one else can use either the suits or the tech they are equipped with except one of you. They're also equipped with a specialized stealth tech that can adapt itself so that you'll be able to blend into any environment without problem; an adaptive camouflage if you will. Add in the fact that they're made with a nanotechnology that allow them to fit the wearer perfectly at all times so that you'll never have to worry about needing a new one in case you outgrow it for whatever reason, and you would be more surprised that SHIELD agents _wouldn't_ be knocking down my door to get their hands on these things if the organization was still around today."

"That's all very nice, and I can see the benefits of having these suits, but do we really need to wear them while we're on these missions," Mu asked.

"Yes, yes you do," Tony confirmed. "I understand how most soldiers feel about their uniforms, but if you guys go out on this mission decked out in an Earth Forces uniform, even if it's to attack a Blue Cosmos facility, then you will run a very high risk of being tried for treason against the Earth Forces."

"Stark's right," Cap nodded. "We can't afford to take any chances if the Earth Forces are in bed with Blue Cosmos."

"And they are," Tony noted, only to get a small eye-roll from Mu and a few other people in the room at his rather childish retort. The young Stark then continued on with his explanation from there as he indicated the equipment that each suit was decked out with. "Most of the other tech these suits are equipped with is what you've all used up until now with all of the much needed upgrades and improvements, provided by yours truly. I'm not saying that the stuff you guys were using was bad, because it was impressive, but compared to Stark Tech, it left a lot to be desired, and since you guys are going to need only the best equipment to successfully pull these kind of missions off, I took the liberty of giving you all the upgrades that you were in dire need of. That being said, you may want to re-familiarize yourselves with at least the basics of the stuff you'll be carrying before you head out."

"That still doesn't solve the problem of how some of us still need replacement weapons," Miriallia pointed out, mostly due to the fact that she still had not managed to repair her rifle, or even get her backup rifle up to the code she had set for herself.

"I was just coming to that, actually," Tony revealed as he stepped over to the case that was currently lying on the desk at the front of the room. Upon opening it, he pulled out a very fancy, high-tech looking pistol, which had a faint blue glow in some areas of the weapon, and then held it up for everyone to see. "Say hello to the latest model of the Incapacitating Cartridge Emitting Railgun, or I.C.E.R. for short, a weapon of choice for nearly all SHIELD agents back in the Twenty-First Century, and especially so for any and all agents who worked with Agent Phil Coulson be it during his time as a field agent or even his time as the director of SHIELD. Unlike a typical sidearm, the I.C.E.R. fires non-lethal bullets with heavy stopping power that break up under the skin, and from there, they deliver a tiny amount of dendrotoxin, incapacitating the target long enough to be secured without any harmful side effects. The handgrips are keyed to the biometric and fingerprint data of the people who normally use them so that no one else can fire the weapons if they are ever lost or taken by an enemy. Of course, that's just the basic stuff that was already around before this model."

"So what're the new features," Kira asked. He was already liking the sound of these guns since they were able to incapacitate an enemy without actually killing them, but he wanted to make sure they knew everything there was to know about these guns.

"For starters, I've equipped them with similar stealth tech so that you can slip them past conventional metal detectors unnoticed, and they are also designed to be able to reconfigure themselves between handguns and pistols with a simple touch of a button, so that you can carry multiple different types of guns just by carrying this one," Tony explained. He then demonstrated this by holding the pistol in his hand like one normally would, and hit the necessary control on the side of the weapon. Everyone could only watch in wonder as the pistol then seemed to alter and reconfigure itself until it had effectively transformed into an assault rifle, and after Tony hit the control again, they were treated to the show of watching it change into a sniper rifle. "This feature can also be used to help you better conceal the I.C.E.R.s so that when someone were to see it on you, they would only see a small cylinder or metal stick that could easily be mistaken for anything other than a weapon."

"Pretty impressive. No wonder so many people have been trying to convince you to develop new weapons for them," Mu commented as Tony changed the I.C.E.R. back into a pistol and returned it to the case.

"Don't remind me," Tony grumbled under his breath. He then pulled out something else from the case, and then turned his full attention to Miriallia. "As for you, Miss Haw, I believe that I have something else that you'll find much more satisfactory."

Upon looking at the object Tony was presenting her with, Miriallia could only quirk an eyebrow in confusion at it, because at first glance, it did not look like anything more than a large handgun. Upon taking the object into her hand though, she could not help but jump a little when the object suddenly unfolded into a crossbow with what appeared to be a holographic sight at the tip. "I noticed that you seemed to have taken a particular interest in the Hawkeye display, so I figured that this might serve as a better substitute for your old rifle for the moment. This specialized crossbow is completely automatic and can fire either conventional arrows, which I can provide you with once we're finished with this briefing, a variety of trick arrows, or even a limited supply energy beams in case you're either running low on one of the other two varieties or you just want to save ammo in the same case. I say that the energy arrows have a limited supply because you can only fire a certain amount of them until the crossbow overheats, at which point you would need to wait for a maximum of at least five minutes before you're able to use them again. When you are using them though, you can think of them like an arrow version of the I.C.E.R.'s bullets. Think of this as a kind of training wheels until you decide you want to upgrade to an actual bow and arrow."

Miriallia said nothing at first as she looked over the crossbow, feeling the weight of it in her hand, and eventually holding it out like she was preparing to fire a shot from it. As she did all of this, her eyes seemed to gain a focused, confident look that most of the group had only seen her with when she was preparing to fire a shot on the battlefield or when she was running a program on the ship's shooting range, but after a minute, they could all see that there was something different about that look this time around. This time around, there was also a sense of calm and relaxation in her eyes that was vastly different from whenever she was preparing to fire her rifle or another variety of gun, and that very same sense of calm was clearly reflected in her posture as well. When she had been holding a gun like she was holding the crossbow at the moment, she had always seemed tense and a bit stiff like she was afraid or nervous of some unseen thing, but while she was holding this new weapon that Stark had just handed her, despite the fact that she was not completely relaxed to a problematic point, she was clearly much more calm and relaxed, like she was completely at ease with the weapon in hand.

After another few minutes of analyzing the crossbow, Miriallia finally lowered it so that she was now holding it in a standby position, and smirked as she said, "Thanks. I think I'm gonna like this."

Tony returned her thanks with a smile of his own before returning his attention to the group as a whole when Captain America asked the all-important question that everyone had been wondering ever since they first heard about these little missions he was enlisting them for. "How exactly are we going to get from Orb to Malibu without anyone noticing us? In case you forgot, Z.A.F.T. was told that the _Archangel_ was chased away from Orb waters, but I doubt they really bought that story, so if the ship is seen leaving Orb, then there's no doubt that trouble will soon follow for both us and Orb itself. In addition to that, it would take the _Archangel_ days just to get there. It may be something of a fast ship, but it's not that fast."

"Who said anything about you guys going in the _Archangel_ ," Tony asked, and he then waved for everyone to join him at a window that was looking out at a point in the Hall of Avengers that most of them had not seen until now. The instant they were all gathered at the window, the lights in that area came on, and they were all a bit shocked at what they saw. "Yeah I know. They're not as impressive as a big space ship, but they are definitely a lot faster and perfect for the job you guys are about to take on."

There, sitting in a secret hangar bay, were a number of different, silver and dark blue jets that only Steve was able to recognize perfectly, while the others had only seen them in pictures from history books. The larger wings were currently folded up, likely to help ensure that they could fit into the hangar or as just a sign that they were not in use at the moment, but it was not always in the same way. Some of the jets just had the outermost tips of the wings folded down, while the ones with larger wingspans had their wings folded up and around the body of the plane. All the jets also had what appeared to be a pair of jet engines on the back wings, no doubt to give an extra boost of speed while it was in the air. Of course, it was also pretty clear that most of these jets were just there for display purposes like many of the other items in the Hall of Avengers, but what really had the group's attention was the one that Tony had waved a hand over to, namely the one that was closest to them. This jet, from what they could see, had a wingspan that was actually pretty close to somewhere of a middle ground between the other two, and had a bit of black detailing in its paintjob along with the silver and dark blue.

"Say hello to the new Quinjet Mark IV," Tony announced. "Its equipped with all of the same basic features as the Quinjets of the past, with a few upgrades, such as an increased maximum flight speed, ARC Reactor propulsion that makes its hover, vertical take-off and landing capabilities much more efficient and even stable, an improved stealth system with an enhanced cloaking device, and armor that could take a blast from one of the Iron Man armor's unibeams. In addition to that, they also have an onboard autopilot system that Jocasta can help you control, and which is also voice activated so that all you would have to do is just name your destination, and the jet would take you there in an instant, assuming it has your voice pattern registered in its computer systems. They're also capable of flying both underwater and in space if the need should arise."

"Really," Tolle gasped in awe.

"Yep, but don't think that they're able to get into space on their own. They need to be equipped with a special booster for that," Tony amended. He then looked around the group for a minute before he finally asked, "So…what do you guys think?"

"Tony Stark, you are a credit to your namesake," Steve replied after a few more minutes of looking at both the new Quinjet, and the old ones that he was so familiar with, having flown on most of them at least once in his life. He then turned to the Commandos so that he could give them his orders. "Alright team, gear up and familiarize yourselves with the new tech as quickly as possible. Even with the speeds that this Quinjet can achieve, it'll be a few hours before we reach Malibu, and if we're going to pull this off, we're going to have to do it under the cover of night. Stealth is a key element to this op. You all know the basics of your roles in the field, and you'll be receiving a more detailed briefing of your assignments once we're in the air and enroute. Other than that, wheels up in twenty minutes. Dismissed."

Everyone immediately snapped a quick salute to the super soldier before they dispersed to carry out his orders, except for Kira who could not help but pause when he noticed that Steve did not seem to be moving to acquire a new uniform like the others. "Uh Cap, aren't you going to change into one of these new suits too, or at least into something that would be more suited for this like the rest of us," the mobile suit pilot questioned.

"I was just wondering the same thing," Tony revealed, joining the conversation. "I mean, if you want to use it, I've got a new and improved version of the uniform you wore during your time working for SHIELD before the whole Project Insight incident."

"I appreciate both the concern and the offer, but I think I'll stick to what I've got here," Steve declined, gesturing to his regular Captain America attire. "But I will take one of those I.C.E.R.s if it'll make you feel better. No point in going in without being ready for anything, right?"

The two just nodded in response to this, and they all then joined the rest of the group in carrying out the tasks they needed to perform in order to prepare for the upcoming mission as quickly as possible. After all, they only had twenty minutes to do so.

* * *

Captain America made sure that everyone was ready at the time he had designated, and a few hours later, well into the night by that point, the Quinjet was flying towards the New Howling Commandos' destination, and everyone on the team were all decked out in their new SHIELD-Tech suits. It actually came as a pleasant surprise to them when the lining and badges on each of their suits changed to different colors that had become somewhat unique to them after putting them on as opposed to the plain, dark grey color they were before. Kira's suit had gained a dark blue color, while Sai and Kuzzey's both changed to indigo. Mu's suit actually changed to a dark shade of purple that was similar to the shade of the color in his pilot suit, while Tolle's had changed to a burnt orange, and Miriallia's suit was a dark red that reminded Cap a bit of Hawkeye. While it was nice that no one had a set, standardized color anymore, they were all far more focused on their mission objectives, since the site of said mission was now just a few minutes away.

It was at this time that Cap transferred control of the Quinjet over to Jocasta so he could go over the mission plan one last time, just to be sure that everyone was clear on who needed to do what for this to be successful. "Alright everyone, I know that you're all probably getting tired of hearing the mission plan, but we should still go over it one last time before we reach the first drop zone," Cap started, leading everyone to gather around as a computer screen lowered from the ceiling and displayed a three-dimensional layout of the Blue Cosmos facility. "First off, Mu and Kuzzey are going to be the only ones remaining here on the Quinjet since their skill-sets will make them better suited for here than anywhere else. Mu, I want you on the jet's controls at all times. The second you hear a call from any of us for a full extraction, you come in, pick up whoever's at the landing zone, and then get out."

"What if someone isn't able to make it there in time," Mu inquired. He really did not like the idea of leaving a man behind.

That sentiment was shared by Steve, since he replied, "That's why you're landing is going to last long enough for everyone to get there, and why you're going to stay low and in stealth mode as you sweep the facility for a way to get anyone aboard who didn't make it." He then turned to the other person who would not be going into the field. "Kuzzey, we'll need you monitoring our communications at all times. Make sure that they stay encrypted and that no one other than us is able to get into or tamper with our comm. network. Those are the only instances in which you should try to get in touch with us, because beyond that, you'll need to maintain radio silence with everyone down there. You'll also be the one monitoring our positions based off the signals of our comm. devices, so we'll be counting on you to know whose where if any of us get into trouble."

"Understood," Kuzzey nodded, mentally sighing in relief for the fact that he was not going to need to leave the Quinjet but still nervous about how serious his job was going to be.

"The rest of us will be infiltrating the facility and carrying out our main objectives: destroying any and all weapons caches that Blue Cosmos has accumulated here, and retrieving the intel on their little project so that we can figure out what exactly the Atlantic Federation has them working on, or even the smallest bit of evidence that would confirm ties between Blue Cosmos and the Atlantic Federation. Since stealth is a key element here, we can't afford to take out any enemy agents needlessly or carelessly, so try to make sure that you don't fire or attack any enemies unless it's absolutely necessary. Miriallia, the minute we're inside the building, I'll want you at the highest perch you can find so that you'll have eyes on everything. Call out patrol patterns and warnings as you see them if they present a problem to anyone in the group. Tolle, you're on weapon demolition detail, so we'll need you to plant a few of your explosives on their weapons caches in a way that will make a big boom with as few charges as possible."

"Gotcha. Just leave it to us, Cap," Tolle nodded confidently, while Miriallia silently did the same.

"Kira and Sai, you're with me. You two are going to be key parts in this since you're both great at computers and retrieving information, but Sai, you're the one I want focused solely on hacking in and getting the data we need. Kira, for you that will be a secondary matter, because I'll want you to help me cover Sai in case we're forced to engage any hostiles."

"Understood," both of the two boys nodded in response.

 **"Captain Rogers, we are in our final approach to the drop zone,"** Jocasta announced, bringing an effective end to the final briefing.

"Alright people, let's get to work," Captain America said as he retrieved both his shield and his helmet from where he had set the items down, giving everyone else a silent cue to gather their own equipment as he did so. Once they had arrived at the drop zone and the team was fully equipped and ready for their jobs, Cap hit the control to open the door on the Quinjet and promptly jumped out of the plane.

"Uh…was he wearing a parachute," Sai nervously asked after he saw their team's leader just jump out of the plane like that.

Mu just snorted in response before he said, "You're kidding right? This is Captain America we're talking about. He doesn't need no stinkin' parachute. Besides, we're really not that far up off the ground, so none of us would really need a parachute that much anyways."

Everyone nodded in consent of Mu's point, and soon after, the Hawk of Endymion and Kuzzey were watching as the rest of their friends and teammates joined Cap in jumping out of the plane so that they could officially begin their mission, with parachutes despite Mu's words from earlier regarding their current height. Once everyone was on the ground, they quickly made their way to where Cap was squatting down on the ground so that they could look at the facility just a few feet away from them. At first glance, it did not seem like there was anything on the outside that would indicate the old Hammer Industries building was anything more than what it appeared to be, let alone like a place that Blue Cosmos was using for any reason, but after a few seconds, Captain America was quick to point out a pair of snipers on the rooftop to the rest of the group, which Miriallia had spotted just seconds after Cap had started to say something. The fact that the young woman had caught that fact was an impressive compliment to her growing skills, but right now was not the best moment to be giving out praise. They did have a job to do at the moment.

"Miriallia, do you think you can take out those snipers from here," Cap asked, knowing that it would not be wise to try and get closer without running the risk of the snipers spotting them.

Miriallia just gave a silent nod in response before she pulled out her new crossbow and prepared to fire at her targets. Everyone was silent as they watched her prepare to fire her first shot, thinking that she may take a few minutes before firing like she always had up until now, but they were slightly surprised when she ended up taking little more than one minute before firing her first arrow, and then instantly fired a second one after pausing only to line up the shot. The first arrow hit its mark easily, causing the first sniper to fall back onto the roof, and gaining the attention of the second one when he did, and the second sniper barely had time to do more than turn to face his partner before he too was falling back after being struck by the second arrow. To say that everyone was surprised at how easily and effectively Miriallia had managed such an action so quickly would probably have been putting it mildly, but they all knew that they would have to save any praises for later when they were not dealing with their current mission.

Of course, that did not mean that there was no praise at all. "Nice shooting," Cap complimented the girl as he slowly stood up and waved for everyone to start moving towards the facility. "Now, see if you can get up onto the roof. There might be a ventilation shaft or something similar you can use to enter the building and get to the sniper perch we'll need you at from there."

"Got it," Miriallia nodded, and she then seemed to tap a control on her crossbow's handle before aiming it towards the top of the building and firing it again. This time though, the arrow was obviously attached to a strong cable that the team's sharpshooter used to pull herself up to the roof, leaving the others to watch as she ascended to her destination.

Once Miriallia had disappeared from sight, the remaining four made their way to a nearby entrance and then huddled around the outside edges of the entrance. When Cap saw that the door was electronically locked, he signaled for Kira to move over and take a look at it. Kira was already pulling at some scanning equipment and analyzing the locking mechanism by the time Cap had waved over to him, so it was only a few seconds later that he was able to give a report. "I think I can get it open without setting any alarms off, but I'll need a couple of minutes or so if we want to do it so that no one notices anything wrong with the door."

"We may not have that kind of time. Is there any chance that you or Sai can hack the lock," Cap asked.

"No. This isn't a code-lock; it's one that would require a special passkey, and without a similar key of our own, we wouldn't be able to hack it in order to get it open," Kira immediately said as he started opening the control box for the lock so he could set to work. Everyone then just watched in silence while keeping an eye out for any possible patrols until Kira finally reported that he was done with his work. Sai was the one to test whether or not it worked by slowly pushing the door open, and when nothing happened to set off an alarm, or at least an alarm that they could hear or notice in any other way, he pushed it open the rest of the way so that the team could swiftly enter the room with weapons drawn in case they encountered enemies on the other side.

"…All clear," Tolle reported after a minute of waiting and watching, and his report was soon echoed by his two best friends.

Cap nodded to the three boys before he silently signaled for them to move to cover until they heard from Miriallia. They did not have to wait long, because just seconds after taking cover behind some crates, the girl's voice sounded over their comms and reported, _"You guys are clear. The building's security seems pretty light from my current position. I've barely seen that many guards and none of them are anywhere near your position or a point where they would see you at the moment."_

"Roger that Archer," Cap replied.

 _"Archer?"_

"That's your codename for the moment, or did you forget about that when we were discussing such matters on the flight over," Cap explained.

 _"No, I didn't forget. I guess it just didn't register with me until now. Well that and I'm not sure if I really like the sound of it that much, now that I've had time to think about it,"_ Miriallia immediately said in her defense.

"Well, you can brainstorm on other ideas later. Right now, stay on task," Cap ordered, and he then signaled for the boys to spread out and carry out their own objectives, to which they each nodded in response before Tolle split off from the group while Kira and Sai fell into step behind Cap, each to make their way to their objectives.

* * *

Tolle had not split off from Cap and his friends for very long before Miriallia started feeding him some info on where he would likely find what he was looking for. If he wanted to destroy the weapons caches that were here without using too many explosives, he would need to find a group of caches together, and place his explosives in places where one explosion would set off a chain reaction and destroy the other caches once that one had gone off. He already had something of an idea on where he should look for the caches based off the building layout that Stark had given them, but he was still glad that Miriallia was able to guide him to a location that was possibly more accurate than his own guesses.

 _"Trigger, you're just a few feet away from the first setup of caches. Just take the next left and you'll see them right in front of you,"_ Miriallia informed her boyfriend from over the comm.

Tolle immediately picked up his pace a little before he turned in the direction that Miriallia had indicated, or at least what he thought was the direction she had meant, only to see nothing other than an emergency exit. "Uh Archer, I think you might have your directions a little mixed up," Tolle said when he saw this.

 _"Trigger, I said the next_ left _. You're facing the next right,"_ Miriallia corrected in a deadpan tone.

"Oh…whoops," was all Tolle could say when he realized his small slip up, and he immediately turned to the opposite direction that he had previously been facing. After preceding a few more steps, Tolle spotted a few different crates, most being stacked on top of others and quickly moved to inspect one the closest ones just to be sure it was what he was looking for. After managing to open the lid, he could not help but grin a little when he saw the guns inside, but at the same time he also gained a feeling of dread when he saw just how big those same guns were. That feeling of dread was not because he would not be able to complete his assigned task, but because of the knowledge of what such weapons were likely to be used for. If these things were ever to get into the wrong hands, then innocent people would end up getting hurt, be they Coordinators or Naturals, and that just served as added motivation for Tolle to complete his mission.

After looking over the weapons in that particular crate and the positioning of the crates in his immediate vicinity, Tolle quickly placed the lid back where it was so that no one would suspect anything, and got to work setting a couple of charges that would be set to go off the minute he hit the trigger. Cap had told him not to set them to a timer since there was a chance that they would run the risk of the explosives going off before they could all get out, so Tolle had to make absolutely sure that the triggering device he had made would be able to go off at just the right range and with little interference. As for the reason why he was setting two in this area, it was more due to his decision to err on the side of caution than anything else, just in case one explosive turned out to not be enough to destroy all of these weapons.

"Trigger to Captain, charges set. I'm moving on to the next possible location of caches," Tolle reported.

 _"Copy that. Just remember to stay out of sight, and if you are spotted, make sure that you subdue the enemy before they can signal for help,"_ Cap reminded Tolle.

"You've got it," Tolle nodded in reply, and he then broke into a small run as he headed for the next location.

 _"Tolle, wait! Not that way,"_ Miriallia warned, but that warning came a little too late, as Tolle was soon right in the line of sight of a pair of guards. Looking over the two, Tolle could not tell that they were either random civilians or hired mercenaries of some kind based on their appearances alone, but if he were to judge based off of the guns they were carrying, he would have to say that the latter was just slightly more likely than the former. Of course, he also noted that their body armor seemed to be military grade, having seen some similar varieties on the _Archangel_ , so there was also the chance that they were probably active or even former soldiers as well.

"Hey, who're you and what're you doing here," the closest of the two demanded, snapping Tolle out of his silent analysis.

Tolle did not get a chance to answer before that same guard suddenly dropped to the floor after getting shot by an arrow from somewhere above them, and the second guard fell soon after when he shot him with his I.C.E.R. _"I did try to warn you,"_ Miriallia's voice said over the comms.

"I know, I know," Tolle groaned in reply as he holstered his gun and started moving the two fallen guards out of sight. "Let's just hope no one noticed anything or that neither of these guys were able to contact the rest of their buddies."

 _"Best not take any chances. Trigger, redouble your pace on completing your objective, but keep your I.C.E.R. ready at all times from now on. The minute you so much as get a glimpse of a guard, shoot. Archer, you may want to change your position to a different vantage point,"_ Captain America cut in, giving the two new orders when he did.

"Yes sir," the two both replied in unison, and they quickly moved to carry out their new orders, hoping that they had not been caught.

* * *

Just a few minutes before Tolle had called in to report his success and locating the first set of caches and placing some charges to destroy them, Cap, Kira, and Sai had actually been proceeding into the building rather easily. That of course was mostly due to Captain America's quick acting and reflexes, as every time that they spotted a guard, Cap was quick to take them out with a swift strike or stealth move that knocked out or disabled the guard before they had a chance to do anything or even realize that he was coming, and so far, he had not even used his I.C.E.R. once. That was not to say that Kira and Sai were not doing anything at all to subdue any guards or possible attackers, because every so often they did end up spotting a guard that Cap had missed and subsequently taken said guard out with their I.C.E.R.s just a second later, but since Cap had told them to hang back as they proceeded, it had all worked out so that the super soldier was doing most of the work in that regard. Aside from that, the most that Kira and Sai found themselves doing was opening any locked doors that barred their way as quickly as possible, and so far, that was proving to be child's play for them.

When they finally reached their destination, the two boys were both about to start hacking the computers when they heard about Tolle's encounter with the two guards, and that served as enough reason for Sai to speed up his hacking since he had started doing so just seconds before Kira had. After Steve gave his orders to the other two over the radio, he turned to them and started giving them their new orders. "Sai, you focus on hacking that computer. Get everything you can off of it no matter how insignificant it may seem at the time, so long as you make sure that it's nothing that would prove harmful to Stark's computers when we upload the data to them when we get back."

"I'm on it," Sai confirmed as his typing speed seemed to increase a little more, right to the point that Kira was almost reminded of how fast he would usually be typing when he was working on the Strike's OS, as well as his conversation with Cagalli earlier that day.

"Kira," Cap then said, snapping the young Coordinator out of his thoughts. "I'll need you to act as a second set of eyes and ears and help me cover Sai while he works. We'll need to minimize our chances of getting caught and attacked as much as possible now."

"Sure thing, Cap," Kira nodded, and he immediately drew his I.C.E.R. as he moved to stand at Sai's left flank while Cap covered the opposite end.

They did not have to wait for very long before taking action, because a few minutes after Kira and Steve had taken their positions, a small squad of guards actually walked into the room. "You ask me, I think the boss is just being paranoid. I'm mean no one even knows about this place, so there's no way that someone's actually…" one of the guards was saying to his pals before they all turned and saw the three in the room.

Kira and Captain America both just stared at the group while Sai only glanced at them out of the corner of his eye while he kept working, and the two sides ended up just staring at one another for a few more minutes until another guard told the first one, "You were saying?"

That sentence was all it took to snap someone out of the moment of pause that had enveloped nearly everyone in the room, and unfortunately for the men guarding the building, the someone who had snapped out of it first was Kira, as he immediately fired his I.C.E.R. at the guard who was closest to both him and his friend. Not a second after Kira had fired his weapon everyone else was quickly acting, with the soldiers firing back at the three intruders, while Captain America spun out of the path of the shots that were fired in his direction before bringing his shield forward to deflect the shots that were being aimed at Sai. After glancing to the side to see that Kira had taken cover behind a nearby desk, Cap glanced over his shoulder to Sai and shouted, "Keep working! We'll keep them busy!"

Sai just nodded in response to Cap's words, and the super soldier then charged forward with his shield still in front of him, before he just leaped towards the nearest attacker, colliding the vibranium disk with the person in question the minute he had reached him, and the super soldier then rolled back to his feet so that he could swipe another pair of guards' feet out from under them. A few quick shots knocked down another pair of guards before they could retaliate against the super soldier, courtesy of Kira, and the super soldier was soon left with just two more enemies to subdue. Kira did not spend all of his time fighting at a distance, as a pair of guards ended up trying to get the jump on him from behind. Thankfully, Kira had noticed them coming, and he immediately ducked out of their reach before retaliating with a swift spin kick to the first and a hard left punch to the second. Even though the two were now on the ground and likely knocked out, Kira still shot them each with his I.C.E.R. just to make sure that they would stay that way for the moment.

Sai found himself having a rather easy time ignoring the sounds of the fight that was going on behind him, likely because he had grown used to having to do work on the _Archangel_ while it was in the middle of a battle, and so, his efforts were met with little resistance or interruption for the most part. That only changed once when one guard managed to get past his two protectors and grabbed him from behind. The guard's hold on him did not last long, thanks to a quick elbow jab on Sai's part that was immediately followed up by a couple of hits to the guard's face, knocking him out easily enough. "You okay, Sai," Kira asked when noticed the guard that had just fallen to the floor after trying to attack his friend.

"Fine. Just a minor inconvenience," Sai replied as he started working again. "You may want to shoot that guy with your I.C.E.R. just in case he wakes up again before we're done here."

Kira just nodded and did as his friend suggested, and a few seconds later, Sai had finished his work on the computer, and removed the flash drive he was transferring the data from the computer onto from the port it was plugged into, so that he could show it to Cap as a sign that his job was done. "Nice work you two," Steve nodded as he dropped one last unconscious guard to the floor. He then tapped his comm. device and said, "Archer, Data's got what we need from the computers. I'm moving to the rendezvous point with him and Blue Wing now. What's yours and Trigger's status?"

 _"Trigger seems to have just started planting his last charge, and from what I can tell, we should be pretty clear of any remaining resistance until we're out of the building. Any guards that are left inside are either not going to notice anything until it's too late, or have ended up with an arrow in them,"_ Miriallia reported.

 _"Might want to amend that first part, Archer, because I've just finished planting the last charge. All that's left to do now is set them off,"_ Tolle corrected a second later.

"Okay, Trigger, head for the rendezvous point, and make sure that you don't set off any of those explosives until everyone is clear of the blast zone. Archer, watch our backs until we're out of the building and then follow after us as quickly as you can," Steve ordered.

 _"Roger that,"_ the two replied, and Cap then led his two teammates out of the room so that they could make their way to the rendezvous point as well.

"Remind me again why I'm 'Data'," Sai whispered to Kira as they followed the super soldier.

"At least your codename makes sense. I'm still trying to figure out why I'm 'Blue Wing'," Kira pointed out.

"Two reasons," Captain America answered, showing that he had overheard the two. "One reason is that Mu's already 'Pilot', and the other is because 'Red Wing' was already taken."

The second reason was a bit strange to the two boys, but they just shrugged it off and figured that they would further question it later as they kept going, knowing that Miriallia was watching them as they ran for the exit so that she would know when the best time for her to leave would be.

* * *

Oddly enough, the team did not encounter any other form of resistance as they left the building, even after Tolle and Miriallia had joined them, so when Cap signaled the Quinjet to come and pick them up, he was half expecting someone or something to suddenly jump them in an attempt to stop them from leaving. He could not help but breathe a small sigh of relief when nothing of the sort happened, so he simply nodded to Tolle as a silent indication that he could set off the explosives now. When Tolle hit the trigger, a few seconds of silence was all that passed before the loud booms of the explosions going off assaulted their ears, covering the sounds of the Quinjet's engines as it made its final approach to pick them up. Everyone immediately scrambled aboard the jet as Tolle's explosives continued to destroy the weapons in the building along with the building itself in various blazes of glory, and the noise from said explosions continued to ring out at full volume in their ears until it was finally muffled when the Quinjet's door had closed after them.

"Well, seems like you guys had quite the party," Mu whistled as he steered the Quinjet in the direction of Orb before hitting the thrusters to their maximum output for their return trip.

"That's one way of putting it," Tolle gasped, having suddenly found himself panting from the exhaustion that he did not realize he was feeling until now.

"Let's hope Stark will be having a bit of a party too when he gets this data," Sai commented as he held up the flash drive for everyone to see.

"What did you put on there," Kuzzey inquired.

"Not sure. I had to work really fast in order to get all of the files copied onto this thing, so I didn't really have time to take a good look at it all beyond figuring out what was meant to be a Trojan horse or some other form of virus that would be harmful to a computer system once accessed. I'm pretty sure I got a good deal of the data they had on there, though," Sai replied.

"How much is a 'good deal' of the data," Captain America asked.

"Uh…I'd say about eighty to ninety percent of it at least, or somewhere in that area," Sai told him after thinking about it for a minute or so.

"Well, that's certainly better than what I was expecting us to get," Cap nodded with a small smile. "Nice job, Sai. In fact, great work all of you."

Everyone just grinned in response to Captain America's praise and then settled into their seats for the rest of the flight back to Orb. No matter what happened later, they were all just happy for the moment knowing that they had succeeded in their first mission for Stark and made it out in one piece.

* * *

Upon returning to Orb airspace, Mu returned control of the Quinjet to Jocasta, and allowed the AI to fly the plane back into the underground hangar in the Hall of Avengers where Tony, Logan, Murrue, Halberton and Natarle were all waiting for them. Once the jet had landed and the team had disembarked, Murrue was the first to approach the group with Natarle right by her side. "Well, how did it go," the _Archangel_ 's captain asked.

Steve just smiled in response before he replied, "Mission accomplished, with minimal difficulties. Sai will let Stark have a look at the data to see how much of it we can use to shut down Blue Cosmos for good, and if there's anything else in there that we should be aware of or that should be revealed to the world."

"I'm guessing the latter of those reasons would be more in reference to whether or not there's sufficient incriminating evidence of ties between Blue Cosmos and the Atlantic Federation's leadership, right," Natarle asked in an even tone. She had made it no secret that she did not like the idea of treating her superiors or the nation she served as a suspect of having ties to a terrorist organization like Blue Cosmos, but she had found herself unable to really dispute anything without looking like a ranting fool in front of everyone, so she had kept quiet for the most part. That did not mean that she did not make a point of bringing up the fact that it was not smart for them to start suspecting their higher-ups of such things just because of what Tony had told them.

"Like I said, we'll know once Stark takes a look at it," Steve replied before turning his attention to Tony, who had just received the flash drive from Sai. "Speaking of which Tony, I think you'll be pleased to hear that your tech proved to be as effective as you said it would be. At least, based on my own opinions and views."

"I thought it worked pretty well too," Kira added, and his words were soon being reinforced by everyone else in the New Howling Commandos.

"Glad to hear it. I'll do everything I can to make sure it stays that way for your future assignments, whether it be missions you take from me or in the future when you've all left Orb," Tony nodded in relief. He was about to head for his lab so that he could examine the data on the flash drive when he noticed Logan and Steve giving him an odd look. "What? Is there something on my face?"

"No it's just…I never thought I'd ever see the day," Logan replied. At the confused looks he was receiving from nearly everyone in the room, he went on to add, "The day when I would meet a Stark who was actually humble enough to not brag and say something that made it seem like he thought it was obvious about how the tech worked out just because he had made it."

That earned a small laugh from Steve afterwards, since he clearly felt the same as Logan, while everyone else just looked between the two in mild surprise. Tony on the other hand just held a neutral look on his face before he finally said, "I'm not really sure how to take that, but I'm going to just go ahead and call it a compliment."

"That would probably for the best, son," Steve advised with a smile. He then turned to his team and said, "Now as for all of you, I want you all to review what happened on the mission so that you can figure out where you can improve for your next assignment, and check to make sure all of your equipment is up to code for that as well. Other than that, you're free to carry on as you were before."

"Yes sir," the New Howling Commandos all replied, and with that, everyone had soon dispersed.

Before she had left, Miriallia caught up with Tony and said, "You were right about the crossbow being better for me, so thanks for that. Also, I was wondering if it would be okay if I were to start practicing with using Hawkeye's bow and arrows so that I could possibly use that in the future at some point."

Tony just stared at her for a minute before he smiled and said, "Sure thing. I can have Jocasta give you an access code for that later on so that you can start training with it. Feel free to keep that crossbow though. It's all yours now. I'll be sure to give you a full supply of extra arrows and such along with all the necessary supplies you'll need to make more yourself so that you won't always have to ask me to do it for you if you'd like."

Miriallia eagerly nodded in reply to all of that, and she was soon moving over to the Hawkeye display once again so that she could look at it, already imagining what it would be like to use the equipment of the famous archer at some point in the future. When he saw this, Steve could only smile fondly at the knowledge that someone was already getting ready to pave the way for a new age of heroes that had not been seen since the days of the Avengers, and somehow, he just knew that Miriallia would not be the only one on the _Archangel_ who would be taking up a mantle of one of his old allies. That idea alone made him smile just a little more, a fact that had quickly caught Murrue's attention and prompted her to walk over to him instead of leaving with the rest of the _Archangel_ 's officers.

"What're you smiling about," Murrue chuckled once she was standing next to the super soldier.

"Oh nothing," Steve shrugged with a knowing smile. "Just happy to see a new generation of heroes beginning to form."

Murrue glanced over to where Miriallia was standing at the moment and soon gained a smile of her own that almost perfectly matched Steve's before she hooked her arms around one of Steve's. "Come on, soldier. You'll need to rest too if you want to be as effective on the next mission as the rest of your team," the _Archangel_ 's captain told him as she started leading him to the elevator.

"Right. Thanks, Captain Ramius," Steve nodded.

Murrue had to pause a little at hearing him call her that. It was not the first time he had addressed her in that fashion, so why did it bother her so much now? Maybe it was because they were both technically off-duty at the moment, or something. Whatever the reason may be, she still felt the need to tell him what she did. "Cap, please, just call me Murrue."

Steve had not expected such a request, but it did not take long for him to recover from his surprise and reply, "Sure, but only if you call me Steve."

Murrue nodded in response as a smile lit up her face, and the two then left the Hall of Avengers, neither of them knowing that Tony had been watching the whole exchange from the door to his computer lab. "I guess Thor was right. There may be a chance that something's starting to form between them after all."

* * *

 ** _AN: [now unfrozen] Okay, so not as exciting a chapter as some of you were expecting right? Well sorry about that, but the main point of this chapter was to introduce the New Howling Commandos' new equipment, such as the suits, the ICERs, and all that other fun stuff. If you've seen MARVEL's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., then you're probably more than familiar with the ICERs that were used by Agent Coulson and his team, right? Well, I figured that they would be the perfect weapons for Kira and his friends to use, since they are non-lethal weapons that can knock out a target for a few hours, so they were given said weapons._**

 ** _AXL999: Not to mention we saw the beginning of one of our MARVEL transformations for the Gundam SEED characters._**

 ** _AN: Right. If the crossbow and all the dialogue wasn't enough, I'm gonna tell it to you straight right now. Miriallia is indeed, going to become the new Hawkeye. Originally, she was just going to be a sharpshooter, but then we figured, why not take it a step further and make her the new generation of the Avengers' resident archer? So, we did. Now don't think that she's going to be using the original Hawkeye's bow anytime soon or anything like that; that's the whole reason why we gave her the crossbow in the first place. To have a starting point._**

 ** _AXL999: But she is going to get the full Hawkeye set of equipment later, right?_**

 ** _AN: Well of course._**

 ** _AXL999: Say, where was Thor during all of this?_**

 ** _AN: Uh...let's just say that he was doing whatever Asgardians do when they have some down time. Like I said, this chapter was focused on the new equipment that the Cosmic Era Howling Commandos were going to be using from now on, or at least, the new basic equipment, so there was not really much of a place for Logan or Thor on the mission. Plus, the whole thing was a stealth op. Do you really think Thor would be a great fit for that kind of mission?_**

 ** _AXL999: Good point. I guess the same thing goes for Logan, right?_**

 ** _AN: No, Logan could've gone with them, but there were just two things wrong with that. One, we needed to showcase the new tech and skills we would be seeing the team use for a while, and Logan would be thinking of this as a way to test the kids in the field with as few people looking over their shoulders as possible. And two...well, we've already established that Logan hates flying, so do you really think he was going to get in the Quinjet?_**

 ** _AXL999: Speaking of which, it sounds like the new Quinjet in this story is really improved over the ones we've seen in the MCU thus far._**

 ** _AN: That was intentional. I tried thinking of various things that were already used in the Quinjets up until now, and how it could be improved by this point in time, and that was the result. Well, I think that covers everything I wanted to say._**

 ** _AXL999: And from the looks of things, we're going to see another MARVEL upgrade next chapter._**

 ** _AN: Yes we are. If you folks at home, or wherever you're reading this thing from want a better idea, get Onto the Preview!..._**

 ** _A dangerous aerial defensive system proves to be a problem for the New Howling Commandos on their next assignment, as while the Quinjet's stealth capabilities would keep it safe for the most part, it would not be able to do so the entire time. Seeing the problems that are on the rise, one member of the team will take it upon himself to take to the skies in a different way, as another legend from the age of the Avengers is reborn in the Cosmic Era. Next time on Shield of the Cosmic Era…_** **Chapter 14: Earning New Wings** ** _. Witness a soaring return, Gundam and Captain America!_**

 ** _Well, that's a warp for the moment. Now, if you'll all excuse me, I've gotta go and plan on ways to get back at Yzak with as much pain and torture as possible._**

 ** _AXL999: Uh, don't you mean plan future ideas for spoiler preventions?_**

 ** _AN: No...Other than that..._**

 ** _Please read and review, and I'll see you next time, Gundam believers!_**


	14. Earning New Wings

_**AN: Hey guys, happy 2017, and welcome to the newest chapter of Shield of the Cosmic Era! You're in for quite a treat this time around, guaranteed.**_

 _ **AXL999: You can say that again. The action and suspense in this chapter is practically through the roof.**_

 _ **AN: Right you are, AXL999.**_

 _ **Yzak: How about you just get on with it?! We've been waiting almost two months for the next update on this thing, and I'd like to see some action already!**_

 _ **AN:...Do you want to hit him, or are you okay with me doing it?**_

 _ **AXL999: Given what he did to you last chapter, even if it has been a while, I'm a little hesitant to let you do something in regards to Yzak.**_

 _ **AN: Fine. [muttering] It's not like it was going to be anything too bad. Maybe a few spinning chainsaws here, and some rocket launchers there.**_

 _ **Yzak: Wait, what was he just saying?**_

 _ **AXL999: [Whips out a minigun] Oh Yzak!**_

 _ **Yzak: [looks to AXL999] Oh no. [suddenly gets blasted by the minigun, which is actually firing a variety of smelling salts] Okay, was that supposed to do something? [suddenly hears a soft stampede] Uh, what's that?**_

 _ **AN: Oh, I think that's the horde of hunting dogs that are highly sensitive to the stuff that was in those pellets you were just doused in.**_

 _ **AXL999: We'll give you a five minute head start.**_

 _ **Yzak: Really?**_

 _ **AN: Well, more of a five second head start to be honest. I'd start running.**_

 ** _Yzak: [runs away screaming like a little girl]_**

 ** _AN: Well, guess all we can do now is move onto the story. To the newest chapter, everyone!_**

 ** _Neither myself or AXL999 own anything from any of the Gundam or MARVEL franchises or any other franchise mentioned in this story._**

* * *

 **Chapter 14: Earning New Wings**

It was late into the night in Orb, and while many of the neutral nation's citizens were sleeping, others were hard at work performing various different jobs, be it as part of a night shift or simply because they were the type of person to work late into the night, much like Kira Yamato was at the moment as he continued his work for Morgenroete, or Murdoch as he oversaw the repair work for the _Archangel_ , or Murrue Ramius and Halberton as they discussed their future plans for when the _Archangel_ finally left Orb and for how they would organize the unofficial shore leaves for the ship's crew, or even Captain America as he ran what counted as some basic workouts for him. Out of all these late-night workers though, only one really stood out at the moment, and that was the descendant of the armored Avenger as he studied the surveillance that his drones were sending back to the Hall of Avengers. Tony had actually been studying this footage much more often recently than he had before, because now he actually had someone who could help him do something about it. Still, that did not mean he was going to ask Cap and the New Howling Commandos to just go wherever he wanted them to; he was actually being careful about how he picked out their assignments, hence another reason as to why he was studying the footage so diligently. Thor and Logan had commented that getting so immersed in his work was just another thing that proved he was a Stark when they learned about this, and while he did take that as quite the compliment, Tony had something more important to deal with right at the moment.

That important thing was actually surveillance footage he was receiving from a Z.A.F.T. installation that was very critical in Operation: Spitbreak, at least according to his sources and a few different rumors, and what he saw so far was not disproving any of that information. From what his drone could see, the base was packed with troops and machines that were either armed to the teeth or working their way up there, and the base itself seemed to be fortified to the point that one would have to be crazy to assume that it was not an important location in at least the preparation of such an offensive. Seeing so many Z.A.F.T. mobile suits around the base, be it for one purpose or another, gave Tony a very bad feeling in the pit of his stomach, but that was not the thing that had him the most concerned. If anything, it was one very particular detail about the base's own defenses that were giving him the most worries.

He was just about to test out what he suspected about this defense when someone from behind him suddenly said, "You know, most people your age realize how important sleep is and that a lack of rest can be very bad for your health."

Turning around to face the speaker allowed Tony to see Logan coming into the room with a beer can in one hand, and he relaxed a little more before he replied, "Well most people aren't either the CEO of one of the world's biggest tech companies, or helping Captain America slow down Z.A.F.T.'s newest offensive preparations while working to expose the connections between Blue Cosmos and the Atlantic Federation. And, last I checked most people are definitely not Starks."

"Humph, fair enough, kid," Logan huffed in reply. He knew better than to try and argue with a Stark when they were so focused on their work unless it was absolutely necessary. "What're ya looking at anyway?"

"Check this out," Tony said as he indicated the Z.A.F.T. base he was monitoring. "This is one of the closest Z.A.F.T. bases to either Panama or Alaska, and as such, it's one of the main staging areas for Operation: Spitbreak. Taking the base out or even just disabling it and the machines on it will set Z.A.F.T.'s plans back by quite a bit, but the way I see it right now, there's one very serious problem that would make it difficult for us: the perimeter defenses. They've recently made some upgrades, if you want to call them that, to their anti-air defenses in particular that have me feeling a little nervous. I'm not saying that I don't think that the Quinjet won't be able to slip past them, but I'm not entirely confident about it either."

"Looks like your little spy drone is able to get through easily enough," Logan pointed out.

"The spy drone is about the size of a small bird so unless the defense system is extremely sensitive, there's no way it could be detected. What we need to know is if we'll be able to get the Quinjet in there using its stealth systems without setting off the base's perimeter defenses. That's why I've deployed one of the prototypes of the Quinjet Mark IV to that area in stealth mode on full autopilot. If it's able to fly past the base's perimeter to the middle of the base without being detected, we'll know for sure if we can get the team in that way safely," Tony revealed.

Logan said nothing in comment on the kid's little test, and instead just watched in silence as Tony monitored the jet's progress, hoping that it would work for the same reason as the young Stark. The two looked on with baited breath as the computer tracked the jet as it got closer and closer to the base's perimeter, until something finally happened, and it was not something that they liked at all. The minute that the jet had gotten too close to the perimeter, the computer registered that the Z.A.F.T. base was sending out a communication signal to it, likely as a warning to change course, and when the jet sent no response, the guns on the perimeter of the base and a few DINNs had started turning to where the jet was positioned. Despite the fact that they could clearly not see the jet, they still opened fire, and in a matter of minutes, they lost the signal from the Quinjet completely, indicating it had been shot down.

"I thought you said it was deployed in stealth mode," Logan commented.

"It was, and I made sure that it was using the same stealth tech that's used on the Quinjets that the team normally uses," Tony confirmed as he rapidly worked through the surveillance footage and everything else at his computer, trying to figure out what had happened. "There must have been something in their defenses that picked it up because of its size or something along those lines. Either way, this is going to present a very serious problem to the team when they go out there."

"You're not seriously thinking of sending them there next, are you," Logan asked.

"Aside from the fact that the base is in such a strategic location, there's no way their perimeter defenses would be upgraded to a level like that without good reason. All this does is prove that we need to do something about that base sooner rather than later," Tony pointed out.

Logan hated to admit it, but the kid was right, and this was a fact that he knew full well from his own past experiences in the wars he had fought in, and from other moments of his past, including his time as an Avenger and an X-Man. They definitely needed to get into that base and deal with it quickly if they wanted to make an impact on Spitbreak, which meant that there was something they needed to do right away. "We need to call Cap and tell him about this."

* * *

The next morning found Kira hard at work in an office at Morgenroete. Using the computer in the Strike did prove to be a big help in developing the support OS for the most part, but there were some things for that job that could not be done from his machine, so he was extremely glad that Erica allowed him the use of one of their offices. What he did not expect was for Flay to come by looking for him while he was right in the middle of modifying a new line of code. "Hey, the others said I might find you here, but I still can't figure out why you're here," Flay commented casually.

"I've got to work on this program and a few other projects for Morgenroete while we're here getting repairs for the ship and helping out Tony with his little missions. You know that," Kira swiftly replied, confused as to why the redhead would say that.

"I know that. I meant why are you here right now instead of spending time with the others," Flay clarified. Clearly she needed to be a bit blunter than that, because Kira instantly paused in his work to shoot her a look of confusion, prompting her to elaborate. "Everyone's talking about their plans for their unofficial shore leave, and we all just learned that we're going to get a chance to see our parents while we're here…or at least, in the case of us who still have parents that are actually here, if at all."

You did not need to have the best education in psychology to have picked up on the sadness in Flay's voice when she mentioned that last part and Kira could not help but lower his head a little in sadness and slight guilt afterwards since he knew the reason why it was there. The fact that he had failed to keep his promise to save Flay's father was still fresh in his mind, and after learning that her mother had died when she was little, Kira would have been shocked if Flay was not a little saddened by the fact that there was not going to be anyone coming to visit her when their parents came to see them. He managed to shake off those guilty feelings, knowing that it would do him no good to get swept up in them right now, and finally answered her query. "I know about all of that, but I want to be able to get all of this work done before the repairs are finished, just in case we won't be allowed to leave Orb until I've finished. I don't want to be responsible for delaying us anymore than we already have been," Kira explained as he resumed typing on the computer.

About ninety percent of that answer was just a flimsy excuse, and Flay knew it. If it were another point in time, Flay probably would have snapped at Kira for trying to sell her something like that, and a part of her actually did want to, but she managed to stamp that urge out and take a much kinder and calm approach. "Kira, if something's bothering you, you can tell me about it. You don't have to try and lie to me," Flay calmly reasoned. When Kira did not say anything in response to that, Flay opted to take a different approach and asked, "When's the last time you took a break or something, or when did you even do something that didn't involve working for Morgenroete, maintenance on your mobile suit, or anything relating to the Howling Commandos?"

"A few hours ago, actually," Kira easily answered.

"Meal breaks and taking some time to get a bare minimum amount of sleep don't count, Kira, and I'm not even sure you've been really getting all that much of the latter lately either," Flay deadpanned in counter of that argument.

She had him there, and Kira knew it too, especially since she saw him pause to think about it for a moment. After another second or so, Kira finally answered, "I was actually just down at the Hall of Avengers the other night looking around at the various displays."

"Going down to look at the Captain America display by yourself is not really something I'd call taking a real moment of time off, Kira," Flay argued once again.

"I wasn't just looking at the Captain America display," Kira disputed. "I was actually looking at the Falcon display too."

Flay could not help but roll her eyes a little at that response, and then went on to say, "Kira, seriously, you need to take a break, spend time with all of us, and maybe take advantage of the fact that we can have some shore leave while we're in Orb. Don't you even want to talk with the others about going to see your parents, or anything at all regarding any of this?"

"I'm not really planning on going to see my parents, Flay," Kira suddenly said, surprising Flay quite a bit. When the redhead just stared at him in silence, Kira glanced back at his computer screen and said, "The last time I saw my parents, I was just a normal kid, going to class and living a peaceful life without having to worry about battling mobile suits, fighting soldiers, or any of the other things we've dealt with since coming aboard the _Archangel_. If I see them now though, I'm afraid that all they'll see is a soldier."

"Kira, that's just…" Flay started to say, but Kira interrupted her before she could get any further than that.

"Day in and day out I fight battles in mobile suits, and then help out with their development and maintenance. Why? Because I can, and when I'm not doing any of that, I'm training and going on missions as one of the New Howling Commandos. There's no telling when our next mission for Tony will come, because it could be any day, or even in the next few minutes, and once we leave Orb, I'll be going into battle against Z.A.F.T. again." Kira then paused for a moment before he continued on to add one last thing. "More than anything, I'm afraid that if I met my parents now, I'd end up asking them why."

"Why what," Flay asked, feeling both sorry that Kira thought that way about himself at the moment, and dreading whatever question he was about to reveal.

When Kira finally did answer, Flay's feelings of dread were found to be well-placed, because she immediately felt like it was her fault for making him feel like he would think he would need to ask his parents the question that had escaped his lips. "Why the hell did they make me a Coordinator?"

Flay may have felt bad about hearing Kira would worry about that, but that did not mean she was going to let him go through with what he was thinking of doing. "So what," Flay demanded, startling Kira a little with the way she had said it. Her tone was not overly harsh or mean, but it was still strong enough to get him to stop what he was doing and listen to her. "What does it matter if you're afraid of asking about that, or if you're not the same person you were when they last saw you? They're still your parents, and they would still want to see you, if for no other reason than to see that you're alive! Don't waste the chance to visit them! Even if it's just for a few minutes, you should still go and at least give them something to reassure them that you're okay and still alive, because you never know just how much time you'll really have left with them. Trust me; if you waste a chance like this…it'll haunt you for a long time."

Though her voice may have been strong and passionate at first, Flay still could not help but trail off a bit at the end as her mind wandered to the memories of the last time she had spoken with her father. It was not for very long, just a simple phone call from Heliopolis so that he could be reassured she was still doing all right in Heliopolis, but if she had known that it was going to be the last time she even spoke to him, Flay would have said so much more to him, and treasured every second she had talking to him. This must have shown on her face, because Kira was instantly on his feet and moving to try to make her feel better, but Flay politely waved off the silent offer and gave him a sad smile as she said, "Don't apologize or anything like that, Kira. I'm just trying to get you to understand how important it is that you at least go and see your parents for a little while and not waste the chance to spend some time in Orb while we're here. Besides, I doubt they'll see a soldier if you go visit them; they'll just see their son who would risk his life to protect the people who are important to him."

Kira could only stare at Flay in slight surprise for her words, having not expected this from her at all, but then again, he probably would be a little less surprised if he had been there to hear her speech to Natarle and Hothman regarding her decision to enlist in the military. Still, the fact that she was so insistent on him going to see his parents right now was a bit of a shock, and it made him pause to think about his decision to not see them for a minute. Along with that, Kira also started to think about why he was spending so much time working when he could also be enjoying the time they had in Orb while they were still here, and he could see how others would think he was wasting it by doing nothing but working nonstop, even if it was important work. That did not mean he was thinking of just dropping everything to go out and have a night on the town like an irresponsible high school student, but he did still have to wonder about just how right it was for him to spend so much time just working like this.

Before either of the two could think or say much more about the topic, Kira's StarkPhone suddenly went off, and he immediately retrieved it from his pocket so he could see why. Looking at the device's screen allowed Kira to see a message from Cap being displayed that read, _"Get to the Hall. Stark has something important to tell us about. Pertains to next mission."_

"Sorry Flay, but I've got to go," Kira apologized. "Howling Commandos stuff."

"I'm coming with you," Flay stated.

"What? Why?"

"Hey, I may not be one of the Howling Commandos, but technically, neither are Captain Ramius, Lieutenant Badgiruel, or Thor, and yet they've been to some of your meetings too," Flay pointed out. "Besides, I want to see this Hall of Avengers for myself. From what you and the others have told me, it sounds pretty amazing."

As much as Kira wanted to argue this, he knew that there was no real reason why Flay could not come with him aside from the fact that the Hall was supposed to be kept secret from most people. Still, Stark did not have a problem with showing the place to all of the _Archangel_ crew's most notable members, so he was pretty sure he would be alright with letting Flay see. So, after telling Erica that he had to go, he lead Flay out of the Morgenroete facility and into the car that was already waiting for them outside to take them to their destination, wondering what it was that Stark wanted to tell them all the way there.

* * *

Upon arriving at the Hall of Avengers, Kira and Flay found that aside from Cap, Logan, and Tony, the only other members of the Commandos who were present were Mu and Miriallia, the latter of whom had been continuing her training in using a bow, which started about a day or two after their mission to destroy the Blue Cosmos facility about a week ago. Along with them were also Thor, Murrue, Halberton, and Natarle, and given the grim visages upon Cap, Logan, and Tony's faces, Kira had a feeling that they were not about to receive the best of news. That belief was proven correct after they all watched the footage from Tony's test run last night, and after seeing it, they were all left with just one question. "How exactly did they pick up the Quinjet while it was cloaked in the first place," Natarle voiced for everyone.

"I'm not entirely sure, but it could have something to do with the analysis they made of the technology used by the Blitz. Given how long that they've had the machine and the data on what it can do, it would make sense that they would somehow develop countermeasures for it since it was developed by the Earth Forces," Tony reasoned. "While the Quinjet's cloaking device is not the same thing, it does utilize a similar principle. The only other thing I can think of is that their sensors were strong enough to detect a large object approaching even if no one can see it, which would make sense given how often Z.A.F.T. has been sending down troops and supplies from space lately."

"Makes sense. They'd have to know that their guys are coming down so that they'll be ready for their arrivals, and with so much stuff coming down, they'd probably be cautious of someone trying to slip into the base that way," Mu added on.

"It still doesn't change the fact that it's a serious problem that we need to get around," Logan pointed out.

"Logan's right, and if their security is this high now, there's a good chance that they're working on something big in there for Spitbreak," Tony nodded.

"But how exactly are you going to get around that defense perimeter," Murrue inquired. "If the Quinjet can't get past it in stealth mode, then we won't be able to get the team inside."

"Not necessarily. The Quinjet may not have been able to avoid detection, but Stark's spy drones did," Steve pointed out.

"Because of their smaller size," Tony finished. "Maybe, if we could get someone or something small enough past the perimeter, we could disable it long enough to make an opening for the rest of the team to get through. The only question is how."

"How about having our resident Asgardian do it? He could easily blast his way in, and maybe even take care of the whole thing before we even have to land," Mu suggested.

"While I have felled many a fortress, Flaga of La, I believe that we would wish for an approach that would not be fitting of a barbarian," Thor pointed out.

"If that's your way of saying that we're going for something with more subtlety, then yeah, we are," Logan stated. "Besides, if necessary, Thor would serve as a better distraction for getting you guys out of there or covering whoever manages to get inside."

"Why not use one of the Iron Man armors then," Miriallia offered. "They should be able to slip past the Z.A.F.T. base's detection and do everything we need to do in that base, right?"

"I would if I could, and it is a good idea, but that base is just right on the edge of my range for controlling the suits. More to the point, the further away from me the suits get, the harder it is to control them. I can tell them basic commands like 'fly here' or 'blast that' easy enough, but anything specific would require me to be a little closer to the action, which means we'd still have to fly out there in a Quinjet, and if we get too close to their sensor range, boom! We'll be shot down, and one of the Iron Man suits will be in Z.A.F.T. hands, ripe for salvaging," Tony protested.

"And the last thing anyone needs is Z.A.F.T. getting their own versions of those armors," Natarle added.

"Or anyone else for that matter. After all, there's a reason why Iron Man made sure that all of his armors stayed out of the hands of any government, save for the War Machine armor, and that one was only because the pilot was someone he trusted with his life," Steve finished.

As everyone continued discussing and dismissing various ideas on how to get past the perimeter defenses, Flay noticed Kira's gaze was moving from the meeting to a certain flight suit, and she could tell just from Kira's glance and the sight of the suit that the Strike pilot had an idea of his own, but was not likely to voice it for some reason. Realizing this, Flay decided to speak up on his behalf and said, "Hey, could we use that?"

Turning to where the redhead had indicated, everyone's gaze had immediately settled on Kira who was once again looking over the Falcon display. At that moment, Tony's eyes immediately widened and he exclaimed, "Of course. The Falcon suit would be perfect for getting someone inside, and with the aerial drone in its backpack, whoever's using it would have an extra set of eyes to help them in getting through the base so that they can safely disable the perimeter defenses."

"Not to mention the fact that if the guy flying in is high enough, people who looked up would probably think he's just a bird flying overhead or something, right," Mu pointed out.

"It is a good idea, but that still leaves us without the one important aspect: the pilot, because I'm pretty sure Stark's going to have the same problem flying it with his abilities as he would the armors, if he could that is," Steve pointed out.

"Why can't you fly it, Cap," Natarle asked.

"I'm not saying I couldn't, but I'm needed more with the rest of the team in order to lead the mission. I could probably do that and fly in with the Falcon suit, but it would be better to not take any chances," Steve denied.

"Perhaps Flaga of La could utilize the suit. I have heard tale of his title as the Hawk of Endymion," Thor suggested.

"Oh no way," Mu quickly protested. "I may be a good pilot in a mobile armor or a jet, but this is way different from either of those things."

"Don't look at me. I hate flying period, and never mind the fact that old thing probably won't be in its best working condition," Logan immediately preempted.

"Well then it's a good thing that I've been working on other projects besides the tech that the Howling Commandos are currently using," Tony stated, tapping the controls on his computer as he did. A second later, the wall that had been used to cover the display cases containing the Commandos' SHIELD-Tech suits opened up and revealed a suit that looked nearly identical to the Falcon suit in the display case, save for the fact that it appeared to be in perfect, pristine condition, like it was brand new, and Cap, Logan, and Thor could all tell that there seemed to be a few upgrades to it as well, just by noticing some subtle details that most others would have missed. "Say hello to the EXO-8 Falcon. This new model has all of the same capabilities as EXO-7, including the Redwing aerial drone, with a few changes and upgrades. For starters, the Redwing now acts as a secondary set of energy flight wings in addition to the carbon fiber wings, which allows it to act as a secondary flight pack that the wearer can eject to transfer to others in emergencies, along with a variety of other uses for the main wearer in both offensive and defensive scenarios. In addition, the weapons have been replaced with the same I.C.E.R. tech that you guys are already using in your Howling Commando weapons."

"Impressive, but it still does not resolve the fact that we need someone to actually wear and use it if we want to make this mission a success, assuming we use this suit at all," Halberton pointed out.

Before anyone could go back into discussions on who should wear the suit, Kira suddenly spoke up. "I'll do it," the young Coordinator said, gaining everyone's attention. "I'll use the Falcon suit to fly in and disable the perimeter defenses."

"Kira, this isn't like the Strike; it's completely different, and not just in terms of the controls either," Murrue argued. "Plus, I'm not entirely sure it would fit you."

"Actually, the EXO-8 is made with the same nanotechnology that the SHIELD-Tech suits have, meaning it could fit any wearer perfectly," Tony revealed, only to jump a little at the small glare that Murrue and a few of the other commanding officers of the _Archangel_ sent him afterwards.

"Not helping," Natarle snarled.

Captain America on the other hand, just continued on like that exchange had not happened. "More to the point, we may not have much time for you to really learn how to use the suit. Even if you can master using its more basic functions, that's only going to give a very little guarantee that you'll be able to use it effectively enough to get through and do what we need you to do."

"That doesn't mean we shouldn't at least try, and we don't really have many other options at the moment," Kira reminded everyone. "Besides, we don't need to take out this base right away, do we?"

Everyone looked to Stark to see what he would say in response to that. "Well…while it would be preferable to knock it off the map today, I'd say that we could probably hold off for about two or three days at the most to make sure we're ready."

"Okay then. We can use that time to train me so that I can use the Falcon suit. Sure, we won't be able to do it nonstop, but I can at least do it every second that I'm not working either on the Strike or at Morgenroete," Kira reasoned.

"I appreciate your dedication, Kira, but we all know that you're already working yourself to the point of exhaustion with what you're already doing. We can't just add this onto your plate and think everything will be fine," Halberton tried to argue, but somehow, he had a feeling that there would be no point in trying.

"Please, let him do it," Flay then requested, drawing surprised looks from everyone other than Kira to her. "This is something Kira feels that he needs to do, and unlike before with the Strike, he's asking you to let him do it."

The redhead did have a point there. When Kira was made the official pilot of the Strike, it was because he did not have a choice, a fact that everyone on the _Archangel_ was well aware of, but this time, Kira was the one asking them to let him do something like this, and from the look in his eyes, they could tell that Kira was determined to do this one way or the other. Despite seeing this determination and willingness, Murrue, Mu, Natarle, and Halberton were still rather hesitant about letting him try and use the new version of the legendary suit from the time of the Avengers, but those who had actually lived through that time all had a different mind about it. After another moment of silence, Cap slowly walked over to Kira and asked, "You sure you would be up for it, Kira?"

"Positive," Kira nodded in reply.

"All right then," Steve nodded. "Suit up and get down to the training room. Your first lesson on using that suit starts today."

The minute he heard that, Kira's face broke out into a wide smile before he nodded in response to these orders and walked over to have Tony show him how to get the suit on. While the young genius was helping the mobile suit pilot do this, Murrue instantly stepped over to Cap and asked, "What are you doing? We've already asked more than enough from Kira by having him pilot the Strike, so why are you letting him do this?"

"Because like Flay said, we're not asking him to do it, _he's_ asking _us_ to let him," Steve easily replied, earning a surprised and confused look from both the _Archangel_ Captain and her fellow officers. "Someone once told me that we always have a choice in what we do, and this is Kira's choice to do this. If I tried to stop him from doing that, I'd end up being a massive hypocrite."

Steve's reasoning was all that anyone needed to hear to silence any further arguments, and upon looking to Kira as he started to slip into the Falcon suit, no one could help but smile a bit at seeing how eager he was to use the suit in order to help out. As the super soldier had said, it was Kira's choice to do this, and they were not going to stand in his way; they owed him that much at the very least.

* * *

The rest of that day and all of the next were spent teaching Kira how to use the Falcon suit, and it was probably needless to say that his first few test runs were not very successful. Taking off was simple enough, but actually maneuvering in the Falcon suit was a challenge alone, and nearly everyone had to facepalm at how he could barely even fly in a straight line without wobbling and swaying unsteadily in the air. Turning of was a little less difficult, at least it probably would have been if Kira had ever been hang gliding before, but all the same, he managed to handle the basic motions for making both hard and steady turns after a while. The only problem there was that Kira could not always tell when it was the best time to turn in a certain way. The worst part of it all was probably helping him to get a handle on steady landings; everyone had ended up flinching after his first five attempts ended up being very hard crash landings. Still, they were able to help learn how to manage a basic landing after several tries and many long hours, but they still made him call it a day and see a doctor once they had finished with that afterwards. Now they just needed to help him learn a few of the various tricks that could end up saving his life while he was flying out there.

In order to help him get a better handle on his steering and flying, Logan actually came up with the idea of having Kira follow after his little robotic pet bird, Birdie in a kind of obstacle course, and it actually proved to be quite effective. Seeing Birdie fly ahead of him helped Kira to get a better idea on how to handle the mechanics of flying with wings, at least in this case, and he eventually started to get a better idea on how to get his turns just right so that he would not overshoot or come up short at a critical moment. Of course, that was nothing compared to when he started learning how to handle the weapons while in flight. Flying straight ahead and drawing his pistols was easy enough, but when it came to pulling off some of the more tricky offensive maneuvers, such as barrel rolling to shoot at something behind him, or even using the missile launchers in his gauntlets, he still had a little trouble. The main problem was actually getting him to do it at first, due to how nervous he was in performing the necessary maneuvers, and then holding his position in the air without crashing down. Thankfully, learning how to use the weapons provided by the energy wings was a bit easier, as most of them just required Kira to simply swing the wings at the target or simply aim towards them. The energy quills proved to be a very strong asset given in their flexibility in how they could be used, be it as explosives or even bladed weapons, and Kira was able to figure out how to manage these very easily. Once he had mastered learning how to fly as well, he also figured out how to tell when it was better to use the energy wings and when it was best to use the carbon fiber ones.

After helping Kira finally figure out how to perfect the use of his weapons, there was just one final trick that Captain America felt he needed to learn, and when Kira heard about it, he was a bit stunned to say the least. "You want me to what?"

"Learn how to disengage the wings while in mid-air, roll, and then re-engage the wings while still in mid-air," Steve repeated. He then brought up some old video footage he had found in the Hall's archives and showed Kira what he was talking about. The footage in question was of Falcon in the midst of an aerial fight against an Insight Quinjet, and when the jet fired a barrage of missiles at the winged hero, Kira saw Sam retract his wings just before he flew into a domed structure, roll through the air, and then straightened out as he expanded the wings again, easily, allowing the missiles to fly past him harmlessly and strike the dome instead.

While he was amazed at this feat, there was one thing that stuck out to Kira about it all. "I'm guessing its easier than it looks," the young Coordinator nervously commented.

"Yes, and keep in mind, Sam had a few years of training as a paratrooper and especially so in handling the suit, but we've only got a few hours before we need to head out. You may not necessarily _need_ to know how to do this, but if you can pull it off, it would prove to be a great help if you do end up needing something like that."

Kira nodded in understanding of that, and immediately returned to the starting point of the obstacle course so that he could make an attempt at the maneuver, with Flay, Cap, Miriallia, and Logan all standing off to the side in case he ended up crashing down again. The minute he received the signal to start, Kira took to the air, carbon-fiber wings spread, and he managed to weave through the course with ease until he reached the point where he would need to perform the move that he was going for. Just like he had seen in the video, Kira waited until what he assumed was just the right time, and retracted the wings in an instant before spinning himself forward in a roll, but unfortunately, it was not a steady roll, assuming you could even call it that, as Kira ended up shooting downwards like he was diving into a pool, and as a result, when he expanded the wings again, he ended up blasting himself straight towards the ground until he came into another crash-landing. The minute that happened, Cap shouted for Tony to shut off the course, and everyone instantly sprinted over to the Falcon-hopeful once the course was off.

"Kira, are you okay," Miriallia asked as Flay knelt down to check him over for any injuries. The Falcon suit may be extremely durable to keep its wearer from getting injured and the training course somewhat padded, but that did not mean that there was no chance of Kira getting any injuries during this little training session.

"Did anyone get the number of that mobile suit," Kira groaned lightly, though they could all tell that he was mostly joking.

This was confirmed after Flay reported he had received no injuries, but she could not help continuing the joke by saying, "Then again, with the way he's talking, I think he may have hit his head. That's the only reason I can think of to explain why he's joking around at all right now."

"Ha, ha, very funny," Kira dryly retorted, though it was still with a smile.

Though he was glad to see that Kira was taking this first attempt's lack of success so well, it did not change the all-important fact that Steve had to acknowledge. "This could take a while longer than everything else in his training."

* * *

The remaining time of Kira's training had mostly focused on that one particular maneuver, and while Kira had gotten close to perfecting it, or at least to the point where he was not constantly crashing down after every attempt, they did not have time to wait for him to master it in full before it was time to head out for the mission. It was mid-twilight when everyone had boarded the Quinjet, and the team could only stop and stare for a moment when they saw Kira geared up in the Falcon suit before they all complimented him for how good he looked in it. A minute later, they were in the air and enroute to their destination, and once again, Cap explained the full details of the plan to everyone while they were in the air.

"Alright, I'm sure you're all well aware of the biggest obstacle in our mission by now, but fortunately, we now have a way to get past the perimeter defense," Captain America started off. "Once we've reached the very edge of the detection range of the Z.A.F.T. base's perimeter defenses, we'll bring the Quinjet to a stop and hold position there. That'll be the point where we send in Kira, or should I say Falcon."

Everyone had to pause for a minute after hearing Kira's new codename, but they all quickly shook it off after a second when Sai asked, "Exactly what is it that Kira will be doing?"

In response to this, Cap brought up a holographic representation of the base's layout to better explain how the plan would work. "For starters, he'll be flying for the flight control tower, where we believe the perimeter defenses are primarily controlled. Once he gets in, he'll need to disable it, or determine the exact location of the controls if they're not there." Cap then turned to directly address Kira, "Once of you've done either of those things, you'll need to deploy Redwing, and have it cover your back. Stark will be able to monitor you via its cameras from back at the Hall in order to better guide or assist you as necessary. Try to stay up high as much as possible, because if you ever get too low at any point, you may run the risk of being spotted and causing the alarm to be sounded. Stealth is a key component in this part of the mission."

"Roger that," Kira nodded.

"Until he's disabled the perimeter defense, Kira will need to maintain radio silence with everyone other than Stark, since he will be monitoring Kira's movements with Redwing's assistance. The minute he signals us, we move in and strike. Sai, Miriallia, Tolle, and I will prioritize a ground assault, with Tolle and I focusing on both the soldiers and disabling the weapons, mobile suits, and whatever else could deemed as a major threat based off of our own observations, while Miriallia and Sai retrieve any information they can from the base's computers. Mu and Kuzzey will cover us with the Quinjet, with Kira providing additional aerial support in whatever areas they can't reach. The minute that Sai's done his job and Tolle has confirmed that we've hit all the major armaments is when we pull out. Kira, if necessary, we may need you to fly out separate from us, but we will bring you aboard the Quinjet once we've reached friendly or at least safer skies."

"What kind of defenses should we expect the base to have aside from the perimeter," Miriallia asked.

"Honestly, perhaps a few mobile suits, and maybe standard security guards. We're striking at a time when Stark believes that the defenses are at their lightest, so we shouldn't encounter too much resistance. That could change at any moment though, so be ready for anything," Steve replied. "Any other questions?" When no one spoke up, he simply nodded and said, "Alright, let's go to work, and best of luck to everyone."

Despite the reassurances, Kira was still incredibly nervous. Everything about this mission was riding on him being able to get into the base undetected, and given how most of his training to use the suit had gone, he was a little worried about whether or not he could pull it off. Sure, he had improved a lot over the course of the training sessions, but there was a huge difference between doing something in practice and actually pulling it off in a mission. To say that he was nervous could not even come close to describing his feelings at the moment, despite how confident he had tried to appear to be on the outside, and it was taking all he had to keep from letting anyone else know this. He was so focused on keeping his cool that he did not register Miriallia coming over to him until she had sat down next to him and spoke up.

"So, how does it feel to be joining the ranks," Miriallia inquired.

"The ranks," Kira asked, confused as to what she was talking about.

"Yeah, the ranks of people who're going to become the new generation of Avengers," Miriallia elaborated. "I'm clearly going to be Hawkeye before we're done here, and you're already well on your way to being Falcon."

Kira could not help himself. He just had to laugh a little at both the statement and the idea Miriallia seemed to have gotten into her head. "I don't think I'm going to _become_ Falcon anytime soon, Mir. I'm probably just going to wear the suit for this mission and that'll be it. You becoming Hawkeye on the other hand, I can definitely see happening."

Miriallia just giggled in response before she said, "Given how eager you seemed to be to volunteer, I'd say that it's more likely that this isn't going to be just a one-time thing." The two fell silent afterwards, with Miriallia doing a few checks on her crossbow as they traveled, until she finally said, "Flay told me about your conversation the other day. About why you're nervous about going to see your parents like the rest of us." That got Kira's attention, if his head lowering in sadness was any indication. "Kira, we all know how you feel. Don't you think the rest of us are worried about our parents just seeing soldiers instead of their kids? But we'd still like to see them and let them decide that for themselves. For all we know, it may be the last chance we have to see them, because the next mission, or even the next battle we get into after leaving Orb, may very well be our last, so, we should at least take whatever chance we can get to talk to them."

Kira could understand where Miriallia was coming from with that, and he did honestly share those same feelings, but now was really not the best time for him to think about such things. For now, they had a mission to focus on, and his part of the mission was about to begin in just a few minutes. Those few minutes passed a lot more quickly than Kira expected, because before he knew it, Jocasta had announced that they had arrived at the first drop zone, and that was his stop. Once he had checked over both the suit's systems and weaponry one last time, Kira moved over to the hatch and prepared to make his jump. Just before he reached the controls for opening the hatch, he felt a hand on his shoulder and looked to see Captain America smiling down at him in full confidence, showing him that the super soldier had faith in that he could pull this off, and that proved to be just the confidence booster that Kira needed.

Kira gave Cap a quick smile and nod in thanks and then turned to the hatch as he tested out his comm. link connection with Stark. "Comm. check," Kira called into his radio.

 _"We're live. Channel is secure, and you are good to go whenever you're ready,"_ Tony reported from his computer at the Hall of Armors.

"Copy that, Armory," Kira replied, and he then hit the control to open the hatch.

 _"Remind me again why I'm 'Armory',"_ Tony asked.

"Because calling you Iron Man probably would've been a little too obvious for everyone," Kira replied as he walked down the boarding ramp. The minute he reached the end, he leapt out and began sky-diving for a few moments until he finally activated his energy wings and slowed his descent before rocketing back up into the air.

It took him a moment to adjust to flying in the actual sky as opposed to flying in the training course, what with the wind and all, but Kira managed to do so quickly and he was soon flying straight towards his target as fast as the EXO-8 Falcon suit could take him. It did not take him long to reach the point where the Z.A.F.T. base was in visual range, and as he drew closer, he found himself holding his breath that this would work, all the while ascending a little higher just to be sure that he would not be mistaken as anything other than a large bird. A minute later, he had safely flown past the outer perimeter and was soon closing on the flight control tower. A second later, he had come into a swift landing atop the tower, and after retracting his wings, he looked around to confirm that no one was scrambling in response to any sort of silent alarm and then informed Stark, "Infiltration successful. I'm in."

 _"Great work. Now, get into the tower, find the perimeter defense controls, shut them down, and get out as fast as you can."_

"Roger that," Kira replied, and he quickly lowered himself into the control room of the tower. Once he had done so, he immediately deployed Redwing, and let the little drone fly up and hover over his shoulder before transferring its controls over to Tony. After seeing the drone fly around on its own without any commands from him, Kira nodded to it, knowing that Tony would see the gesture, and immediately raced over to the control panel to try and find what he was looking for. He found it soon enough, but there was a new problem that he quickly spotted. "Stark, it looks like the perimeter defenses have a separate backup control system from this one."

 _"I see it,"_ Tony confirmed as he brought Redwing around to hover next to Kira. _"You can still disable the perimeter defense from here though. It may be for a short time, but it might be long enough for the Quinjet to at least drop off the ground team so they can move in. While they're doing their part, they'll also be serving as a distraction for you to take out the perimeter defenses completely."_

Tony's plan did seem sound, but Kira still needed to check back with Steve to make sure it was okay. "Relay that to Cap, and see if he's okay with that plan."

After Stark gave him confirmation of that, Kira waited in silence for a moment, one hand hovering near one of the I.C.E.R.s holstered on his sides in caution, until Tony finally called him back. _"Cap's given the okay, but he'll want you to move up high and then hold your position until they've started their attack."_

"Roger that," Kira nodded, and he set to work on shutting down the perimeter defenses. Once he had finished and informed Tony of this, he immediately climbed back out the window and took to the skies once again so that he could be in the best position to move when the team arrived. He also made sure to keep moving through the air so that no one would get suspicious if they were to look up and see him. After doing so for a moment, Kira called Stark back and asked, "So Tony, any ideas on where I might find the backup controls?"

 _"Your best bet would be the base's main control room. Hang on, I'll highlight it on the schematics I'm sending to you,"_ Tony informed him.

A minute later, Kira had stopped to hover in the air as he awaited the schematics that Stark was sending him. A second later, they appeared on the screen of the computer in his gauntlet, which he immediately transferred to his flight goggles so that he was not constantly looking at his wrist to check the map. After analyzing the map details and his current position with a little help from his suit's computer, Kira finally located the building he needed to head to and said, "Got it. I'm gonna head over there now."

 _"Wait, not yet! You need to wait for Cap and the others,"_ Tony cautioned.

Not second after Stark had said that, an explosion suddenly rang out from down on the ground, and Kira turned to see Captain America, Miriallia, Sai, and Tolle charging in with guns blazing, figuratively and literally speaking, while the base's security forces and any other Z.A.F.T. personnel scrambled to respond as best as they could. "I don't think that's going to be a very long wait," Kira quipped, and he immediately turned to fly towards his target.

After landing on the roof of the building, Kira immediately raced towards the rooftop access and burst through the door the minute he had reached it, rolling across the floor as he whipped out his I.C.E.R.s to fire on anyone who was on the other side. Thankfully, it did not seem like he had attracted any attention, and he immediately took off down the nearest hall that would lead him to his objective the fastest. When he rounded a corner, he immediately deployed his carbon fiber wings in front of him to form a quick shield in order to prevent himself from being harmed by the shower of bullets that had the security guards had begun firing at him the second they saw him. Running towards them with his wing shield still out, Kira quickly dispatched his attackers with a combination of both his wings and his guns, and they were all soon unconscious and unable to stop him from going on. All except for one that is, but that last one was swiftly dealt with when Redwing suddenly flew in and fired a quick pair of shots at him with its wing-mounted guns.

"Thanks Armory," Kira gasped as he started on his way again.

 _"Don't thank me,"_ Tony replied with a proud sounding voice.

Kira quirked an eyebrow at the drone, knowing that the boy genius could see it through the camera, and quickly caught on to what Stark had meant. "You want me to thank the drone?"

 _"His name is Redwing, and yeah, that is who you should be thanking,"_ Tony confirmed.

"You've gotta be kidding."

 _"Hey, I know he's not your usual pet bird, but you have to admit that he is cute. Go on, pet him."_

"Not happening."

The two ceased their exchange of banter when Kira saw that he had finally reached the main control room and set straight to work once again. His first priority was disabling the perimeter defenses of course, but aside from that, he also made sure to plug in a flash drive that would extract any data from the memory banks of the computers in front of him that could prove valuable to them later on. After a few seconds, Kira was smirking as he broke radio silence to report, "Pilot, Captain, perimeter defenses are all down. Quinjet is clear to proceed."

 _"Roger that Falcon. Finish up with whatever your doing there, and then meet us outside,"_ Steve ordered.

"I'm on it," Kira acknowledged, and he quickly set to work doing everything he could to speed up the data extraction. It took a couple more minutes than Kira would have liked, but he did eventually manage to complete the data extraction, and he then stepped away from the windows so that he could throw a quick nod to Redwing.

Catching the silent message, Stark redirected the bird-like drone so that it was facing the window, and fired a few quick rounds at it, shattering the glass just enough for something to easily jump through it without using too much strength. The minute it was like that, Kira took a running start and jumped through the window, breaking the glass completely, and deployed his wings so that he could take off through the air. His little entrance had quickly garnered the attention of several Z.A.F.T. soldiers, and they were all soon redirecting their attention to firing on the winged Coordinator. Kira was able to easily evade most the initial barrage of enemy fire, and then swooped down to return the courtesy with a little strafing run of his own, leaving multiple enemy soldiers unconscious or open for Cap and the others to take down as a result. The ones who decided to try taking their luck on Kira a second time were quickly disposed of by a few quick shots from Redwing, but it Kira was no longer worried about the soldiers, as he quickly spotted some fighter planes and a pair of BaCUEs that were starting to take off.

Cap had noticed this as well, and he immediately waved for Tolle to take cover before they returned fire, and then tapped his radio. "Falcon, what's your status," Steve asked.

"Engaging," Kira simply replied just second before he rocketed forward and prepared to take on the large machines that were attacking his friends. Any protests that Captain America or Tony shouted to him over the radio were promptly ignored, as he had already set his sights on the nearest fighter plane.

The first plane was swiftly knocked out of the sky with Kira's wrist-mounted rocket launcher, and he easily barrel-rolled around before firing a few shots to disable the second one long enough for Tolle to blast it out of the air as well. Turning around, Kira could see the mobile suits were now turning their attention to him, which was exactly what he had been hoping for. The only downside was that he had not quite planned out the next step in his impromptu plan, so he simply just took to flying away from their shots, and swooping and swerving around through the air as the mobile suits took down the remaining planes for him, or at least the ones that were not shot down by Tolle and Miriallia, who had sparred a few arrows from her position near Sai. With only the mobile suits left to deal with, Kira knew that he had but one chance of taking them out in these circumstances, without putting the Quinjet at risk, and he immediately started flying around them until they were directly facing one another.

At that point, Kira flew in a straight line from one BaCUE's position to the other's, and he saw them both start to take aim with their missile launchers. Even when the missiles started flying, Kira kept his cool and maintained his flight path, until finally, at almost the last second, Kira retracted his wings, rolled through the air as the missiles soared over his head, and then re-engaged the wings so that he could fly away, just as the missiles collided either with one another, or with the mobile suits opposite of the ones that had initially fired them, destroying both BaCUEs in an instant. After he had finally flown to a safe distance, Kira glanced back, eyes wide in realization of what he had just pulled off, and he could not help but let out a whoop of joy at his success while shouting, "I did it!"

"Well how about that," Steve mused to himself with a smile, even as he bashed his shield into a Z.A.F.T. soldier that had tried to jump from behind.

"All right! Way to go, Kira," Miriallia called out from where she was, beaming with pride at her friend's success at not only finally pulling off that move that had been giving him so much trouble, but also taking out two BaCUEs without the use of a mobile suit.

The mini celebration was quickly put on hold though, as they still had a fight to finish, and a few moments later, Tolle had managed to neutralize every major point of the base's offensive power with some help from Kira, Cap, and the Quinjet, while Sai and Miriallia completed their own task and raced out to join the others outside. With their jobs done, Captain America signaled Thor, who had flown in alongside the Quinjet, and the king of Asgard soon brought down a storm of lightning bolts that cleared the way for their retreat. Kira did not board the Quinjet with the others before the plane had taken off, but he was certainly not complaining about getting a chance to fly a little longer before they had finally returned home.

* * *

After returning to Armory, everyone was throwing a little celebration in praise of Kira's efforts on the mission and for finally pulling off the move he had been struggling with the most during the last few moments of his training, and Kira could not help but beam with pride and thanks to all of them. Sure, Steve may have initially scolded him a bit for charging into a fight with multiple mobile suits and fighter planes, but in the end, he still praised Kira for both his bravery and success all the same. After a few minutes, Tony came over to pat Kira on the shoulder once again and said, "You've definitely earned those wings, Kira. Or should I say Falcon?"

Kira could not help but laugh in amusement before he asked, "You sure you want to entrust that suit to me? I don't think I can really see myself using it all that much after we leave Orb."

"Well hey, if not permanently, then at least keep using it while you're still here and doing these kind of missions," Tony shrugged. "Besides, I think it suits you a lot better than some standardized suit, and it looks like I'm not the only one who thinks so."

Kira had to admit that Tony had a point, given the way that Miriallia and Steve had both praised him and insisted on calling him Falcon even though the mission had already finished, but looking around, he could also see smirks of approval coming from Logan and Thor as well, and a second later, Birdie was also flying around his head before soaring up higher into the air to mimic as much of Kira's flying skills in the Falcon suit as the little robot bird could, and Kira could tell that his little friend was of the same opinion as well. Glancing over to the Falcon display, Kira just grinned a little at the thought of even temporarily upholding the legacy that had been started by Sam Wilson, and eventually found no real reason to say anything but yes to Stark's offer of using the winged-suit for all the remaining missions they had while in Orb.

From off to the side, Flay just smiled widely at Kira, proud of him for what he had accomplished, and sure that he was now doing at least a little better in terms of getting over whatever doubts he had before, but at the same time, she could not help but feel a bit sad. For her, everything that had happened over the last couple of days had only strengthened her resolve in a matter that she knew she had to deal with, but it was not one that she intended on taking care of right now. After all, she had no intention of ruining Kira's good mood at the moment with such sad news, but that still left the problem of when she would tell him what she had to say.

* * *

Somewhere in New York, while everyone in Orb was celebrating the success of their most recent mission, a gang of crooks was running a little weapons smuggling operation as a way of helping to prepare for a little Blue Cosmos mission. Whether it was for an attack on a group of Coordinators or something else, they really did not care; all they knew was that they were getting paid to move the weapons through New York and off to some other location where they would be put to use and that was all that mattered to them. After checking to make sure everything was in place and that the guards of the warehouse would not interfere, the thugs quickly set to work shipping the weapons out, never once suspecting that someone was watching them from up above in the shadows.

"Hurry it up, you idiots," the leader ordered. "We need this shipment over with the rest of the stockpile by tonight, and Azrael ain't paying us to be late because you're being slow."

"Hey cut us some slack will ya," one of them said. "I mean, this is **_his_** territory."

"For real, Boris? Are you seriously going to start going on about that crap," the guy next to the identified thug groaned. "That guy's just some urban myth."

"Nah man, I'm telling you he's real. My cousin said his brother Larry got sent to Rykers because of **_him_** for trying to snatch a purse."

"This that same cousin who swears he pulled a heist on Fort Knox with Ant-Man, because you know he's full of shit," Boris' friend scoffed.

"No, that's my cousin who doesn't have any siblings," Boris immediately retorted. Before anyone could say anything else, they heard one of their friends let out a surprised yelp before going silent, and they immediately turned to where said person had previously been.

"Hey, where'd Thrasher go," another of the unnamed thugs asked as he cautiously made his way forward, only to stop when he and the others heard someone else let out a scream of fright before being silenced as well.

They all spun around and saw that another person of their group had disappeared, and this trend continued until all that was left was the leader, Boris, and his friend, and only one of them was shaking in his boots about what was unfolding. "I-it's **_him_**! I'm telling you, there's no other explanation! **_He's_** here, and he's picking us off one by one," Boris stuttered.

"Will you give it rest?! **_He_** doesn't exist! That ** _guy_** is just some stupid fairy tale that parents tell their kids before bed to try and keep them from really living like we do," the leader snapped.

"Uh boss, you might want to see this," Boris' friend suddenly announced, and both Boris and the leader turned to where the man was looking, and both gasped in shock at seeing nearly all of their guys knocked out and either tied down to the ground or hanging down from a nearby fire escape by a thin thread. The one thing that stood out about what was being used to tie up each of their guys was that the thread in question looked a lot like a spider's webbing.

"Oh crap! Crap-crap-crap-crap! I told you **_he_** was real," Boris shouted as he turned to make a run for it, only to let out a grunt of pain as something dropped down from the shadows and tossed him into the wall before he too was tied up in webs.

Boris' friend immediately pulled a handgun out and started shooting at where the figure that just attacked his friend was, but said figure easily jumped out of the way and evaded the bullets like they were projectiles from a toy gun before running up the side of and then along the wall like it was the ground. When the figure was over both Boris' friend and the gang leader, he leapt at the one with the gun and tackled him to the ground before appearing to zap him with what looked like red lightning that danced around his fingers. With only the leader left to deal with, the figure turned to face said crook and slowly stood up, allowing the leader to see the figure's gold eyes. The leader of the crooks immediately went for his own gun, but the figure merely pulled it away with a flick of his wrist and another thin, web-like thread as he continued to slowly walk towards him.

"Wh-what the hell are you," the leader gasped. "Who are you?"

"No one too special," the figure answered in a young sounding voice. "Just your not-so-typical, concerned citizen who wants to make his neighborhood a little more friendly. Something that you're going to help me do one way or another."

A moment later, the gang leader had let out a quick scream before he joined his cohorts in unconsciousness and in being tied up. When the police finally arrived, they were all shocked to see the crooks dealt with and still tied up in the same web-like rope, but they were not complaining. After all, they had been getting help with crooks like these for several years now, so why start looking a gift horse in the mouth? All the while, they had no idea that the one who had provided this little service was watching from above before he swung away on a web-line, much like a certain New York, friendly neighborhood hero did so long ago.

* * *

 ** _AN: Yeah, you saw it here, Kira Yamato is now the newest Cosmic Era Avenger, (who's he kidding about that unoffficial stuff, right?) and has taken on the mantle of the Falcon!_**

 ** _AXL999: You know, when we were planning this out, I'm pretty sure we decided that Kira be given the Falcon suit because of Birdie or something, right?_**

 ** _AN: Well, that had something to do with it, sure, because in the comics, Sam Wilson actually had a pet bird of his own, by the name of Redwing, who he shared a kind of psychic connection with or something along those lines. Plus, out of all the other Avengers that Kira could become, besides Captain America, who else would you really think of seeing him as?_**

 ** _AXL999: You certainly did not seem to have many shortages of Marvel references this time around, did you?_**

 ** _AN: You can blame or thank Captain America: Civil War for that. It kinda sparked a need to put those in there._**

 ** _Kira: Uh, can I just say that what was mentioned about Flay thinking something at the end there has me kind of nervous._**

 ** _AN: Oh relax. It's not anything too bad like she's planning to kill you in your sleep or something._**

 ** _Kira: That really doesn't make me feel much better._**

 ** _AN: Well, you can take it however you like, but we'll be seeing more specific details on that later on. More importantly, I'd like to think that, given her character development this time around, it made sense for Flay to be a bit more calm and cool when she talked to Kira earlier, which she was, so really, having her act the way she did in the original continuity when she found out Kira wasn't going to visit his parents would've been a little strange this time._**

 ** _AXL999: Uh, what about the whole thing with the Quinjet not being able to slip past that security system though. Last I checked, it was supposed to have state-of-the-art, Stark-tech in it for its stealth capabilities._**

 ** _AN: As we have often seen in the past, just because Stark's tech is good, does not mean its the best, or that it can handle everything. As T'Challa had once said when Iron Man boasted of his stealth-tech, "Wakandan defense tech is better." Besides, we needed to give Kira a real reason to wear the Falcon suit in this chapter beyond just wanting to wear it or do more to help out. Speaking of which, if you're wondering, just because it's name is different, doesn't mean that the suit is. The Falcon suit actually looks most similar to the one from Captain America: Civil War, and also has energy wings like the Falcon suit does in some of its more recent animated appearances, though that is absent when Redwing is deployed in its drone mode._**

 ** _AXL999: By the way, how about that last scene at the end there? I think that's a pretty strong indicator of what we can expect to happen next chapter, huh?_**

 ** _AN: Couldn't have said it better myself. Although to be more specific, I'd think it'd be better to say, "Who" we should expect to see next chapter. For more information, move Onto the Preview!..._**

 ** _The team's next mission brings them to New York, but while their objective is a stockpile of weapons for Blue Cosmos, what they don't expect is a surprise helping hand from someone who has apparently become a silent defender of New York. Then again, if you were to ask Captain America, Logan, and Thor, this particular defender is anything but silent, given their past experiences with the one who's mantle he now wears. The secret behind the fate of another Avenger legacy and how it has lived on in the years gone by, along with the identity of this mysterious person is soon revealed, but just what will happen after he has been revealed? Next time on Shield of the Cosmic Era…_** **Chapter 15: Inheritor of the Web** ** _. Swing into the action, Gundam and Captain America!_**

 ** _Oh I'll bet the suspense is killing you, huh? But then again, if you can't figure out what Marvel hero is making his debut next chapter, then I guess it wasn't quite obvious enough by what happened in the final scene, or even the next chapter's title._**

 ** _AXL999: How do you come up with all of these chapter titles anyway?_**

 ** _AN: Sometime I ask myself that same question, because let me tell you, it's not always easy. Anyway, with that said..._**

 ** _Please read and review, and I'll see you next time, Gundam believers!_**


	15. Inheritor of the Web

_**AN: Hello everyone! We're back with another update for Shield of the Cosmic Era, and I honestly can't think of a better time to post this particular update, because as of a few days ago, the MCU just saw its most recently released film (or at least most recently released at the time of this update), the amazing, spectacular sensation that is Spider-Man: Homecoming! I actually just saw it myself just the other day, and I've gotta say, this is by far, the best Spider-Man movie to date! I mean the action, the drama, the way they worked in the various characters and aspects of the rest of the MCU, not just with Iron Man, but with a lot of the other MCU characters as well, and nevermind the twists and turns that we saw in the movie's plot! I mean, OH MAN! I'M STILL GEEKING OUT ABOUT IT! YEAH SPIDER-MAN!**_

 _ **AXL999: Dude, you might want to calm down a minute before you explode from all this excitement or something.**_

 _ **AN: Sorry, I can't help it. I'm a huge Spidey-Fan (which would probably explain why Spidey's managed to swing his way into nearly every Marvel story I've written to date), and to see such a well-done, incredible masterpiece like this...! Seriously, Sony should've let Marvel make a Spider-Man movie ages ago, because this easily trumps the Amazing Spider-Man movies, and the Spider-Man trilogy before that.**_

 _ **Dearka: What I want to know is when we're actually getting to this chapter, mostly because I want us to finish up with this story so you can move on to the sequel. Seriously, I know there's still a few things that you need to cover first, but I think it's pretty obvious how a lot of the more major things are going to take place in the story that comes after this. You know, like how you plan to have Lunamaria...**_

 _ **AN: DAH! SPOILER!**_

 _ **AXL999: Finally! Someone other than Yzak gets hit. [whips out a control for a giant catapult loaded with sludge and hits the launch button]**_

 _ **Dearka: Uh-oh. [Turns to try and run]**_

 _ **?: Oh no you don't. [web-shooter sounds are heard]**_

 _ **Dearka: Huh? [looks down to see his feet stuck in webbing before looking up at the sludge that's flying at him] Ah nuts. [gets buried under the sludge, which has a very nasty odor to it]**_

 _ **AN: Thanks for that, Spider-Man.**_

 _ **Spider-Man: You're welcome.**_

 _ **AN: And for those of you who are wondering, this is not the Spider-Man you have seen before in any of my stories, or even anywhere else in Marvel, most likely. You'll see what I mean in a moment.**_

 _ **AXL999: Now I'm especially excited and have to agree with Dearka on one thing: We need to hurry up and start this chapter.**_

 _ **AN: Agreed! Let's not keep anyone from this newest dosage of Spidey-action any longer!**_

 ** _Neither myself or AXL999 own anything from any of the Gundam or MARVEL franchises or any other franchise mentioned in this story._**

* * *

 **Chapter 15: Inheritor of the Web**

After Kira's first mission in the Falcon suit, the Commandos ended up facing missions that, while still important, were not quite as high-risk or adrenaline-pumping as that one had been. Most of the time they were taking out Blue Cosmos bases or storage areas for weapons and other materials, but they did take on a Z.A.F.T. base or two that Stark believed was likely to be essential to Operation: Spitbreak, though they were not quite as heavily defended as that last base was. While they were all glad that these recent assignments were not as dangerous as what they were all referring to as the Falcon Mission, most of them were starting to feel that the missions were getting a little routine, and they honestly did feel like they needed more of a challenge. They were about to get soon enough, and it all started when Stark had called them all together for a briefing on the Howling Commandos' next mission.

For this latest briefing, the entire team had gathered together along with Flay, Thor, Wolverine, and the three commanders of the _Archangel_ , and they could all tell that this was going to be a very serious matter just from the look on Tony's face as he spoke. "After the last few missions, it started to become clear that Blue Cosmos had something of a system for transporting resources outside of anyone's notice. For the most part it seemed to be untraceable, but like in everything, there's always a pattern somewhere, and after several painstaking hours of data analysis and review, I found it. Or to be more accurate, I found one pattern that we can actually move on, and that we need to move on right away. As I'm sure you've probably guessed, due to the fact that this is a terrorist organization we're talking about, Blue Cosmos is indeed employing underground criminal delivery and shipment routes to get their resources around, including the items that they need for whatever it is that they're helping the Atlantic Federation to work on."

"Which you still haven't managed to learn anything more about other than the fact that it supposedly exists," Natarle pointed out, her tone showing just how little she believed in that.

"I have figured out quite a few things about it. Just not enough to come forward and expose it to the world, and besides, that's not the point of this meeting," Tony retorted. A quick glance from Halberton to the both of them was all it took to get the conversation fully back on track. "While I wasn't able to identify every single crime organization that they work with, I did manage to ID the most notable one, as well as where the center of the route they pass through is." He then paused for a minute, knowing that certain members of his audience were not going to be too fond of hearing this information, but he had to tell them anyway. "The center point and the location of your next assignment is none other than the city that at one point in history was known as the superhero capital of the world: New York."

That earned gasps of shock from everyone, and a minute later, every one of the original _Archangel_ crewmembers who were present and Halberton were instantly throwing concerned glances at Cap, Logan, and Thor, knowing what that city meant for them especially. For their part, the three were able to hide both their shock and their feelings on the matter rather well, though on the inside they were indeed steaming quite a bit. More than that, everyone could tell that Logan was doing his best not to pop his claws out of a need to slash something apart right away, and they could also see Cap and Thor's brows furrow a little as the super soldier clenched his fists while Thor's eyes seemed to spark with electricity a little. Still, they all managed to keep their composure for the most part, and even though the other two were not able to do so as well, Steve somehow managed to keep his calm as he asked the next obvious question, even if there was a slight, menacing undercurrent to his voice. "Where in New York?"

"It took a little while to figure that out, but in the end, it turned out to be right in the middle of the roughest part of Queens," Tony replied.

That earned a light snort from Logan as he muttered, "If Web-Head's not spinning in his grave knowing about this right now, I'll give up beer for the rest of my life, assuming my life ever does end."

That drew gasps from just about everyone who was not around during the Twenty First Century, save Tony and Kira, and they had all fallen silent until Kuzzey spoke up. "That's right. All the history books and legends say that Spider-Man was from Queens, New York," the communications specialist of the commandos recited.

"Legends," Thor asked.

"Sometime after the Ultimate Battle of Heroes, Spider-Man had disappeared. No one knows if he had died in the final fight or if he just retired," Sai started to say.

"Heh, Spider-Man retiring? Yeah, and I'm a well-mannered gentleman," Logan scoffed.

"But whatever the case may have been, it was not long until a new spider-themed hero had shown up calling themselves Scarlet Spider, and then later on, Spider-Man. A few years or so later though, all Spider-Heroes had vanished completely, so some have started to think that they were all just a myth or a legend that people had made up so that they could have a hero they could better relate to than the Avengers. After all, the stories all say that Spider-Man did handle a lot more street level and small stuff than you guys did. No offense," Sai finished.

"None taken," Steve reassured him. "Spidey always did handle the small things as though they were just as serious as the stuff the Avengers got into, and that made him a much greater hero than any I've ever known. I may have set the standards on what it means to be a hero, but Spider-Man was the one who truly showed everyone how to truly be a great hero. He had heart, courage, and selflessness unlike any I've ever seen before."

If that had come from anyone else, the others would have just been simply impressed, but since this was Steve Rogers saying it, they were all rendered into speechless shock and awe. Eventually though, Tony brought the silent moment to an end by asking, "So I take it that means you guys are in for this assignment?"

"I'm offended you would even need to ask Son of Stark," Thor smirked as he raised his hammer, which was already crackling with electricity. "Those fools shall know the wrath of the All-Father for their vile acts in the home of the Man of Spiders."

"Don't even think about making me stay behind," Logan growled, daring anyone to tell him otherwise, and soon enough, the commandos were all on their feet saying that they were in.

Steve was just about to tell them to get ready for their mission when Murrue suddenly stepped over to him and announced, "I'm coming with you."

Once again, everyone was left shocked. While she was captain of the _Archangel_ , and even though she had authorized Steve to start up the Howling Commandos, Murrue had never actually joined them on a mission before. Granted part of that was because she was captain of the ship and her place was on the bridge in the past, but even before they had arrived in Orb, she had never really done all that much in regards to the team aside from helping Steve with reviewing tactics and making final decisions about who would be on the team since the new Howling Commandos had been formed. Of course, she did join in on a training session here and there, but that was just about it in terms of actually working with the team, so to hear her now asking to join them on this assignment was quite a far cry from what everyone was beginning to consider as normal for her.

Steve was chief among those who were shocked, but he was quick to shake his surprise off so that he could point out some flaws with Murrue's request. "That's not a good idea, Murrue. Even if this is a move against Blue Cosmos, if they do have ties to the Atlantic Federation's higher-ups, they could somehow find a way to use this against you, or as an excuse to have you court-martialed."

"Even if I was worried about that, I can't just sit back and let those extremists commit such heinous crimes in my own home nation, or even a place that's part of the Earth Forces territory," Murrue argued.

"Still, the _Archangel_ can't go without its captain."

"It's not like the ship's going anywhere anytime soon, and besides that, Admiral Halberton and Natarle are both still here, so they can handle anything that comes up in my absence. Any other arguments you want to try, Cap?"

Steve could hardly believe that he was being countered so quickly and easily. Clearly Murrue had expected his responses and prepared counters for every point he made, but he was still not going to give in that easily. "It's too dangerous."

"Are you saying that I can't handle a little danger, or that I'm not a very competent soldier outside of ship-to-ship combat," Murrue inquired with a pointed look that promised very bad things if Steve answered wrong.

Now she had him backed into a corner, and it showed when Steve started stuttering his next response in an attempt to placate any annoyance that she might be drawing up after his last comment. While some of the others had to shake their heads at this, the rest of them found it quite humorous that the mighty Captain America had been reduced to a stuttering mess all because of one woman, even if said woman was as strong-willed and passionate about her beliefs and values as Murrue Ramius was. Seeing that she was now on the verge of winning this argument, Murrue quickly pressed on and said, "Steve, I doubt I need to tell you of all people this, but a captain's first duty is to their crew, and I can't really say that I'm doing that very well if I keep letting you all go out there without ever taking the same risks as you are. After all, I can't really ask you to do any less than I would, so I'm coming with you whether you like it or not."

Steve could see that he was not going to get anywhere on his own, but before he could look to anyone in an attempt to silently ask for help, Natarle beat him to the punch. "Captain Ramius, as your first officer, I can't allow you to take such a huge risk," the _Archangel_ 's SIC informed Murrue. Everyone thought that this was going to be the start of another confrontation between the two, as they had become quite regular on the ship, until Natarle smirked a little and added to the list of surprises they were all being delivered that day by saying, "Which is why I'm coming with you as well."

The two women looked to Halberton as Murrue then asked, "Can I count on you to keep things in order on the ship while we're gone sir?"

Halberton could only return the two's smirks as he said, "You don't need to worry about that, but keep in mind that the final say on whether or not you two go is solely dependent on Captain America."

Everyone then turned back to the super soldier, waiting to see how he would respond, while Steve just looked back and forth between Murrue and Natarle, studying the serious and determined expressions that their faces held. After another few minutes or so, Steve finally sighed in defeat, looked to Tony, and asked, "Do you still have a few more of those SHIELD-Tech suits, Stark?"

"I've got enough for an entire army," Tony admitted.

Steve nodded in reply to that and then turned to address the room at large, mostly in regards to his team. "Alright. Wheels up in ten, so suit up and meet at the Quinjet as soon as you're ready." He then looked to the two had just asked to join the mission and finished, "That goes for you two as well. The minute Stark has you outfitted for those suits I'll expect you both at the Quinjet and ready to move out."

"Yes sir," was the response that everyone gave before dispersing so that they could do whatever they needed to do in order to be ready for the mission.

Steve himself moved to grab his helmet from he had left it, along with an I.C.E.R., but had to pause for a moment when he saw Logan standing before the display case of a certain Web-Head's old suit, namely the one that Spider-Man was most famous for wearing. Moving to stand next to his old friend, Steve glanced between him and the suit before he finally asked, "You all right?"

"Just…paying my respects and making a quick promise to the kid," Logan admitted. "It seemed appropriate given what we're about to do."

Steve nodded in agreement and then turned to face the iconic Spider-Man suit as he did the same as Logan, only he spoke his promise in the softest whisper he could manage. "I promise you, we're going to make sure that those guys will think twice before doing anything like this again in your hometown…Peter."

The two then turned and marched away so that they could finish preparing for the mission, and ten minutes later, the Quinjet was flying away from Orb and off to where so many things in the history of so many heroes had taken place, and where so many of their old friends and allies had called home, especially in the case of Spider-Man: New York.

* * *

It took a lot of self-restraint on the men's part to not openly stare at Murrue and Natarle after they were suited up in their new SHIELD-Tech suits, seeing as the suits hugged every curve that their bodies possessed, but somehow, they managed to keep it together. The minute that the two officers had slipped into said suits, like the others, the lining and badges had changed color, with Natarle's turning into a dark grey that could almost be considered black, and Murrue's turning to a shade of sky-blue, and said color changes had actually made it harder not to stare at the two for a moment. Even so, they all kept their eyes where they needed to be, though some could not help but notice that Cap's eyes would occasionally wander to Murrue every now and then when he thought no one was paying attention, and when he was not focused on flying the Quinjet, Mu's gaze would also tend to travel over to Natarle in a nearly discreet manner.

The attention that the two female commanding officers of the _Archangel_ garnered aside, everyone was actually quite tense for what they were about to fly into. Not because of the mission itself though; because of where they were going. New York City was the place where nearly every major hero in Captain America's age, or rather the age of the Avengers, had made their base of operations in one way or another, especially in the case of heroes like Spider-Man, so to many of them, it was like they were about to travel to a place that some would consider sacred ground. More than that, it was clear that Steve, Logan, and Thor were all taking this very personally, and no one could blame them. After all, New York was once a place where they had each called home at one point or another, so to hear that Blue Cosmos was using it to further their Anti-Coordinator agenda had definitely hit a sore spot for them. What none of them realized though, was that it was more due to the specific area of New York that this whole thing would be going down that had them upset than anything else.

If you were to ask any of the three from that day and age of marvels, they would instantly tell you that you would be hard pressed to find a hero of any variety that did not have some kind of connection to Spider-Man. For some, it was mostly knowing of him by reputation only, while others had the occasional team-up, and others still had worked with the wall-crawler on many different occasions, especially after he joined the Avengers. Whatever the case may have been, they were all able to acknowledge that Spider-Man was one of the greatest superheroes out there, eventually. Sure his joking around and often child-like attitude would lead you to think otherwise, but when you considered the fact that he handled all the various different levels of problems and not just the big stuff like alien invasions or whatever plot Red Skull and Doctor Doom were cooking up, you would have been instantly reminded that he would often be doing more good in the world than even the best of the Avengers were doing. Steve could still remember one time when he told the web-head that he actually admired Spidey for his dedication in protecting the innocent when he had so much going on outside of the suit as well, even when it seemed like the whole world was against him. He had not just been saying that to Spider-Man; he really did mean it, and when one considered the very humble beginnings that the young man had come from, along with the fact that he had started out at the young age of fifteen, that seemed to just emphasize Steve's point when he would say that Spider-Man was often a far better example of what it means to be a hero than even he could ever hope to be.

Logan and Thor were both of similar opinions to Captain America. In the case of the former, Wolverine knew just how great of a hero Spidey was due to the fact that he was one of the few heroes who had partnered up with Spider-Man more than anyone else, and despite how often he tried to tell the kid that he needed to wise-up to how dark the world really was, he was glad to see that Peter always maintained that optimistic attitude of his throughout everything. The fact that the kid never even flinched when he threatened to gut him also helped a bit as well, because it showed that he knew that Logan did not always mean it, even if it was likely because of that Spider-Sense of his. Thor on the other hand had not teamed-up with Peter as much, though that was mostly due in part to the fact that he spent much of his time on Asgard, but every time that he did meet up with the young hero in battle, he was always left impressed by the show of strength, courage, and selflessness that Spider-Man would display in every action he took. Sometimes he could not help but wonder if Spidey might have been worthy to lift Mjolnir, and he still remembered the one time he actually offered Spider-Man the chance to try, only for the web-head to refuse. It was not that Spider-Man did not actually want to give it a try, but more like he just did not feel he would have been able to if he did, and he also believed that he was better off sticking with what he already had. Then again, maybe it was for the best that Spider-Man did not try, because if he had been worthy of Mjolnir, there was no telling how things would have changed both on Earth and in all the rest of the Nine Realms. Bottom line was, hearing that Spider-Man's home was where this bit of terrorist support was taking place was being considered as an insult to the web-swinger's legacy in the eyes of the three heroes, and they were determined to make sure it was dealt with by any means necessary.

Still, it did not make everyone who was born in the Cosmic Era wonder one thing no more than it stopped Kuzzey from asking the question when they finally arrived in New York. "So how does it feel to finally come back," the boy had asked the three age/battle-tested heroes.

None of the three answered, and that made the rest of the team a little worried, some more than others. "Are you okay," Murrue asked as she placed a hand on Steve's shoulder. Even though she was directing the question at all three, it was clear it was more towards Cap than anyone else.

"Fine," Steve replied. "Just…feeling a little nostalgic and thinking about what these people are doing here, and what it means towards a good man's legacy."

Murrue and the others were unable to do anything more than nod in reply as Jocasta helped set the Quinjet down in a discreet location in Queens that was also close to where their objective was. When he felt the jet shudder a little to signal it had landed, Steve immediately put his game face on and turned to address the team. "Alright, the plan is simple: we go in and destroy any weapons or tech that these people are smuggling for Blue Cosmos. Since this isn't a research base, there likely won't be any computers to pull data from, so Intel-gathering is a secondary priority. Anything you do find that would be important, you either pocket or take pictures of if you can't do that."

"There's still one thing I don't get," Miriallia suddenly said. "If Blue Cosmos does have ties to the Atlantic Federation, why do they need to smuggle things through Atlantic Federation territory? Wouldn't they just need to ask the higher-ups to get what they wanted?"

"Actually, that's something I've been wondering about myself," Natarle admitted, glad that she was not the one to bring up the topic.

"They might have ties with your government, Badgiruel, but Blue Cosmos are still terrorists, and that means that they can't get everything they want or need from the Atlantic Federation, especially when it comes to committing some of the crimes that they have committed. If it were for an operation over in Z.A.F.T. territory, your bosses wouldn't have a problem sending weapons over to the Blue Cosmos agents there, but when it comes to stuff that goes down here in their backyard, they would have to jump through several hoops before they got so much as a hand gun to kill someone they suspected of being a Coordinator, and most terrorists don't have that kind of patience. Besides, given how determined most of the Atlantic Federation commanders are to wipe out all Coordinators, I doubt they really care where their stuff comes from or how they get it if it means that Z.A.F.T. and all other Coordinators are wiped out. No offense Kira."

"None taken," Kira nodded.

Natarle did not have anything to say in dispute of that because she could see the point Logan was trying to make when he said all of this. "Either way, we can't let any of this get through to their commanders. Maybe if we find something that can prove that their shipping it to a Blue Cosmos leader who holds a strong position in the Atlantic Federation's government, then we can expose them to the world, but for now, our priority is to take out this cache of weapons and whatever else we find in there that could prove useful to Blue Cosmos or as a threat to the world at large."

"I fail to see the difference," Thor admitted, getting a nod or two from a couple of the others afterwards.

Steve just continued on like the Asgardian had not spoken. "Falcon, Archer, you two are our eyes in the sky for this. Keep an eye out for anything that would prove to be a problem to us while knocking out any enemies that enter your crosshairs. Trigger, Wolverine, Commander, and XO, you're with me. We're taking the fight directly into the facility so that we can examine the items in there and plant charges on whatever needs to get blown. Any hostiles we encounter, we take out but not down. If most of these are just average criminals, then we can leave them to the local police. Data, you and Comms will remain here on the jet to coordinate our efforts while Pilot stands by to pick us up in case things get messy. Thor, you'll be acting as support for all of our teams, so stay airborne in a position where you can act at a moment's notice in case any of us encounter any trouble."

"Wait, I know we're not tackling my usual field, but I can still help a little. Kuzzey doesn't need me around to help coordinate anything," Sai tried to argue.

"I'm aware of that, Sai, but all the same, there's also no point in sending the full team in at once. If anything happens to any of us, you, Mu, and Kuzzey are going to be our last line of defense and our last chance of getting out in one piece. We'll be counting on you three to watch our backs as much as we'll be counting on Miriallia and Kira. Understood?"

Sai could only stare in disbelief. Sure, he was able to see what Steve was saying, but it still felt like he was getting sidelined. Then again, hearing that the others would be counting on him as much as they would be Kira on this did bolster his resolve a little bit, so he ended up nodding in concession of Steve's point. With that settled, Steve ordered everyone to suit up and head out, and the mission began, all the while with each of them being unaware that someone had been watching them from the shadows atop a nearby rooftop. Someone who was curious as to what these strange people were doing in his city, and who could not help but gaze in awe at the figure leading the team in.

"Could it actually be him? But that's impossible, unless the rumors are true, and Captain America really is back," the figure muttered. He then steeled his resolve and determined, "Well, one way to find out, and besides, they are already going somewhere that I was headed to begin with, so I guess I'll be catching two flies with one web."

The figure then leapt down from his perch and swung over to the warehouse that the team was heading for, not entirely sure if he should race these guys just to see which of them would get there first or not.

* * *

Miriallia was starting to lose count of how many times she had found herself up in the rafters of a place, and while she did not mind too much, she did hope she could see a little more ground action than this. The fact that she almost always had to deal with Redwing hovering somewhere close by was just part of that reason. She did not mind having the drone close, seeing as it would allow Stark an extra set of eyes on things in the field, and help Kira keep an eye on his friends, but it did get to be a little irritating at times. Maybe if the thing were a little more like Kira's pet robot, Birdie, it would not have been so annoying, but then again, Birdie actually looked like a bird, and Redwing…well, you could see so many differences just by looking at the thing.

Still, while dealing with the small aerial drone was annoying at times, the point of the fact was that Miriallia wished she could be right in the middle of things with her friends at times. Sure, she was an impressive sharpshooter, and she knew that mean she would often be in a sniper position, but that did not mean she could not do something else as well. Not that she was _that_ eager to go up into the middle of a fight like the ones that Cap and even Kira would often get into on some of these missions, but still, she would like to do something other than just sit in one spot and shoot off a few bolts or arrows before changing positions every few minutes or so. As such, when she was not making such long-distance strikes though, Miriallia was brainstorming on ways that she could get a bit more field action beyond just shooting things from a distance, even going so far as to try and figure out a training schedule she could run that would help get her there faster, and it was during one such session that she almost missed seeing something move into the warehouse at a speed that was almost inhuman. A minute later, she spotted the figure again, and she could tell that it was definitely human, but with the way he or she was moving, it was hard to really figure out who they were beyond saying that they were not with her and her friends.

Realizing this, Miriallia quickly tapped the goggles she had taken to wearing on missions lately, which were designed to assist with scanning an area for targets when she actually needed the help, and started searching the area for this illusive individual while she radioed in a report on what she had seen. "Falcon, Cap, someone else has just entered the building, and whoever it is, they're fast. I just barely caught sight of them as they were coming in, and before I could get a good second look, they were gone again."

"I'll send Redwing to take him out," Kira suggested, already reaching for the controls in his gauntlet to send the order to the drone once he had landed a short distance from Miriallia, having been airborne at the time when she called.

"No, hold off on that for the moment," Captain America cautioned, slipping around a corner and elbowing a thug who was guarding the warehouse into unconsciousness. "Just find him for now, and then watch to see if he's friend or foe."

"What makes you so sure he isn't with these guys," Murrue asked as she came around the bend after him, an I.C.E.R. already out and ready for action.

"If he was, then why did he sneak into the building? Why not just use the front door or something similar like the others," Steve posed in response.

"Maybe he did that so that he could conceal himself from us. If word about these hits on Blue Cosmos has gotten back to their bosses, then they might have decided to take precautions and hire someone to act as a kind of bodyguard for the place or something," Natarle suggested.

"That is a possibility, which is why I'm telling them to hold off on detaining this guy until we know whose side they're on," Steve reasoned out.

Murrue was about to add her own two cents to the discussion when they all heard someone grunt in pain, like they had just hit something, and they immediately scrambled forward to see what had happened. When they got to where they believed the sound had come from though, they saw absolutely nothing at all. A quick look in his direction was all that Logan needed to know they would want him to take a whiff of the area to see if they had not just been hearing things, and when the Wolverine confirmed from the scents in the air that someone had been here a moment ago, they all started to wonder just what had happened to said person, a question that none of them hesitated to pose. "From what I can tell, the guy was just standing here before he was lifted into the air or something," Logan replied.

"By what," Tolle questioned.

"You think I know the answer to that, kid," Logan asked.

Before any of them could say anything, Kira suddenly called out, "Hey, I think I've got eyes on our mystery guest. Cap, he's right above your team!" The five had immediately tensed for a moment, until Kira said, "No wait, he's gone again; moving to a different area. I think…from what I can tell he's heading in the direction of where we believe a majority of the items Blue Cosmos wants moved is right now."

"Then it's a good thing that we were already heading that way," Steve nodded. "Logan, you take Natarle and Tolle and circle around so that we come in from two points. Murrue, you're with me."

The four nodded in response and immediately split into said groups as they quickly moved forward to their objective. That did not stop Logan from quickly commenting, "You know, I can't help but wonder why you were so quick to pair off with Ramius, Steve."

If their backs were not already turned to the others, the two captains were sure that they all would likely have seen how their faces had both gained a brilliant blush, one that they were praying that the other could not see due to how dark it was at the moment. Somehow, Steve shook it off first and stated, "Stay on mission, Logan."

"Not one word from any of the rest of you, either," Murrue added on in warning.

"Whatever you say, Captain," Natarle replied, barely concealing the teasingly knowing tone her voice gained along with her similar smirk.

The two captains ignored the remark in favor of carrying on with the mission, and soon enough, the team was storming into a room full of several crates that no doubt contained several different weapons, armors, and various other components that were obtained by Blue Cosmos be it legally or otherwise. At the moment though, their immediate concern was the number of thugs guarding said merchandise, as there was enough men in there for a small army. In point of fact, given how all of these men were so well-armed and even how many of them there were, one would be hard pressed to think that they had not been expecting someone to show up and stop them. Murrue and Natarle were both quick to think that maybe Blue Cosmos was catching on to the Howling Commandos' missions, but Cap quickly disregarded that as a less likely scenario. If you were to ask the super soldier, it seemed more like they had walked into an ambush that was meant for someone else, because even if these thugs had learned of their sabotage missions against the terrorist group, there was no way they would have only brought the men before them now or the level of guns that they were seeing. If anything, it would have made more sense if they set a few more traps and had some heavier weaponry on them if they were expecting the new Howling Commandos. Such an opinion may have seemed a little cocky to some people, but considering who was saying it and how much experience he had, it was hard to really tell.

The question of why these men had set up this ambush would have to wait for later though, because right now, they had to actually get through the fight in one piece. Thankfully, a few quick shots from some of the I.C.E.R.s was more than enough to subdue a good number of the thugs, but that still left a reasonably large army of them in the room, and the team had little cover available to them aside from the various crates that were scattered around the room. As such, they were forced to keep moving around if they wanted to avoid getting shot as much as possible, while only taking cover where they could if they absolutely needed to. Eventually, this proved to be all the cause Kira needed to swoop down and join the fight, swinging his wings and firing his I.C.E.R.s at anyone who dared to attack his friends and comrades. A rain of arrows provided by Miriallia also helped deal with quite a few of these thugs, but what really came as a surprise was how well Natarle and Murrue were handling their parts of the fight.

While they were all used to seeing the two women take such a hardened determination every time they were caught in a battle on the ship, they never really counted on how that would translate over to their skills outside of a ship-to-ship battle. Sure, Kira had seen that Murrue could hold her own back on Heliopolis, but he never realized until now just how good of a soldier she really was. With the way she was weaving through and returning gunfire left and right, and sometimes even knocking thugs out with a few close-quarters-combat moves, you would almost think that Murrue might have been a Coordinator herself, at least in the eyes of someone like Kira and his friends. The same could be said for Natarle, only her approach was a lot faster and hard-hitting, given that she took a more offensive approach to the fighting than Murrue did. While the _Archangel_ 's captain tended to prefer avoiding most attacks before retaliating in kind, Natarle did not hesitate to strike back in an instant, even if it meant that she would probably end up being injured in the process. One could even go so far as to say that their personalities had something of an effect on their fighting styles, or it could be the other way around, but whatever the case may have been, despite whatever dents any of the team were making, it was still not quite enough to take all of the thugs that were against them down very fast. Just when it seemed like the fight was going to carry on for the rest of the night though, something very unexpected happened that almost none of them were expecting.

It had started when Natarle was in the midst of one of her charges, and even though she had managed to take out at least four thugs single-handed, she failed to notice a fifth one waiting in the wings to ambush her. Said thug likely would have succeeded had he not been tackled away from the XO of the _Archangel_ as someone shouted, "Look out!"

Natarle spun around just as the man who had nearly caught her off-guard was tackled away, barely noticing how the rest of the fights in the building had come to a stand-still, and like the others, she was completely floored by what she laid eyes on her rescuer. There, standing over the thug that had just been shoved away from Natarle, was a man who was decked out in tight, dark blue pants, a red, zip-up hoodie, a red mask that covered his entire head, a dark silver belt, and a pair of yellow-tinted goggles over his eyes. One could also note that a pair of silver devices adorned either wrist, but the thing that had proven to be most notable was the black emblem emblazoned on the front and back of this man's hoodie: an emblem that was in the shape of a spider with four short legs on the top, and four longer legs that went almost all the way down to the bottom of his hoodie. When the man glanced up at everyone staring at him, he could only stare back for a few minutes before he finally said two simple words that had once been said by the same man whose likeness he had taken on as his own. "Hey everyone."

"It's that bug-freak! What're you idiots waiting for, an invitation?! Waste him," the leader of the thugs shouted, and not a second later, every single person who had been fighting the new Howling Commandos was attacking the red and blue clad man with everything they had, while said individual just leapt out of the way, spinning through the air as he avoided their shots with an ease and grace that was almost inhuman.

What followed next was nothing short of a sight that one would have to have witnessed firsthand to believe. The entire army of thugs was easily torn apart by this one man clad in attire that was so similar to a specific hero that Cap, Logan, and Thor all knew from their days with the Avengers, and he did it in a manner that was just as similar to how said man would fight. He would spin through the air dodging knifes and gunfire, often times evading attacks when he should not have been able to see them coming at all, kicking and punching thugs hard enough to knock them out with one strike each before moving on to the next one with a roll, spin, or flip, and of course, as to be expected by his attire, whenever he had subdued one target, he made sure they stayed out of the fight by immobilizing them in a large glob of webbing that he fired from the devices on his wrists. There were even times when he would use said webs to disarm the thugs, making the fight easier on himself, not that he needed the help that much. The only difference between this spider-like individual and the one that the three knew from the Twenty-First Century was that he would sometimes knock out an enemy with what appeared to be red electricity that would dance around his fingers before he slammed open palm strikes into the thugs, and as a result, that thug would be left unconscious on the floor while seeming like he would not be getting up again anytime soon that night. Of course, another difference would be that this man was scarily quiet as he fought, at least for someone wearing this particular mantle, but that was not really much of a major detail that they were too concerned over, even if part of them did miss the quips and one-liners a little.

"Uh shouldn't we do something to help," Kira finally asked as he landed among his friends and teammates, with Miriallia lowering herself down to them a moment later via a grappling line that she had shot out from her crossbow.

"Help who? The guy who just saved Badgiruel or the thugs," Logan asked with a small smirk as he reached into his belt and pulled out a cigar. "Besides, I'd rather enjoy the show."

"Verily," Thor smiled while Steve just silently nodded in equal agreement, as he was more focused on the young man who was currently tying another thug to the nearby wall with his webs after he had kicked him into it.

Looking from the three former Avengers to the fight before them, none of the members of the _Archangel_ Crew could really argue with what any of them had just said, as it was clear that this red-and-blue-clad individual had things well under control. In point of fact, this man had managed to reduce the number of opposing thugs to barely more than a mere handful of men when they were an army just seconds ago, something that they had been attempting to achieve for what felt like forever. Soon enough, the number of thugs was down to only three, and they were all just staring at the man with the spider-emblem on his chest in fear, each shaking in their boots as he slowly stalked towards them, making them more and more afraid with every step he took, until finally, one of them screamed and turned to run, only to end up being pulled into another web by the man who had been fighting them. The other two were a bit more bold in their response, and just simply elected to try and shoot him, but the man just simply leaned left and right to avoid the shots as he continued walking forward. When he finally reached his two opponents, he grabbed them both and knocked them into one another, making them collapse into a heap on the floor.

It seemed like the fight was finally over, but just then, one final thug had jumped out, ready to take down the masked man, only for said hero to avoid the surprise attack and kick him away before snagging him with a web-line, so that he could hold him where he stood. "Who…who are you," the thug whispered in frightened awe.

The masked man said nothing for a minute, electing to instead release another burst of that red lightning from his hands, sending it traveling down the web-line and right into the thug. Just before the crook fell unconscious, the man in red and blue finally answered his question in a tone of voice that sounded far too serious for the person he was claiming to be, but got the point across all the same. "I'm Spider-Man."

"Well you've certainly got the webs and something similar to the look at least, but I'm not too sure about the new version of the logo you're sporting there," Logan told the supposed web-swinger, reminding said individual of the Howling Commandos' presence.

"Still, just like the original, you've definitely got heart, kid," Steve complimented. "Where you from?"

"Queens," Spider-Man immediately replied, dropping his web-line as he turned to face the team, tensing up a little like he was preparing for them to attack him next.

Steve could not help but chuckle a little, both at the kid's cautiousness and at the sense of déjà vu he was feeling even as he replied, "Brooklyn."

Spider-Man stared up at the super soldier for a few minutes in silence, leaving the entire room in a similar state as everyone waited for someone to make a move, until he finally said, "Well you've certainly got the look down, and at least one historical fact straight, but I'm still not buying that you're the real Captain America, even if there are rumors about him being back from the dead."

"Trust me, Bub, you're looking at more than just the genuine article of Captain America," Logan informed the young man as he popped his claws, knowing that would be the best way to prove who he was.

Spider-Man stared at the indestructible claws for a minute before he finally pointed out, "Okay, so we've proven that Wolverine really is still around, and only the real Thor would really dress in the way that this guy would and actually look even slightly convincing, but that still doesn't prove anything about the supposed Star Spangled Man with a plan here."

"I was really hoping that people would've forgotten about that by now," Steve muttered to himself, knowing that at least a few of his friends were snickering behind his back after hearing that last part. He ignored them though in favor of slowly walking over to man before them, leaning in close so that only Spider-Man could hear him, and whispering, "The real name of the hero whose legacy you've taken up was Peter Parker. He'd been Spider-Man since he was fifteen, and I first encountered him at an airport in Flughafen Leipzig-Halle, Germany during the Clash of the Avengers."

That got more of a reaction out of the web-head, and after getting his bearings back, he finally raised his hands in surrender and admitted, "Okay, you're the real deal."

"What did he say," Tolle asked, having not heard what Steve said, and everyone else who did not have a clue silently asked the same question.

"You don't want to know," Logan replied, being the only one who was able to actually hear what Steve said, and knowing that response would likely get them to back off. While this was a lie, Logan was still a good friend to the original Spidey, and as such, was entrusted to keep Parker's secret identity, so even though Peter was long gone now, he was still intending on taking the knowledge of who the original man behind the Spider-Mask was to his grave, assuming that day ever came.

The rest of the team bought Logan's response and quickly started moving throughout the facility while the new Spider-Man looked on in silence for a minute, until he finally approached one of them with a question of his own. "So are you supposed to be the new Falcon or something," the web-head inquired.

"Something like that," Kira nodded as he used an energy wing to open one of the crates.

"Cool," Spider-Man nodded. He then watched as Kira waved over Natarle and Murrue, not really caring which of them came over so long as one of them did, and eventually looked around at the others again as he asked the all-important question. "Well what're you guys all doing here?"

"We heard from an anonymous source that these guys were shipping weapons and equipment for Blue Cosmos, namely for some big operation that they were helping out with, and decided to investigate. From what it looks like, he was right, and now we need to destroy as much of this as possible," Cap informed the man who was likely a descendant of the original web-swinger.

"What about you? How'd you end up in this mess," Logan asked as he pried open another crate with his claws.

"Tip from a thug I recently knocked off the street," Spider-Man replied. "He said that his crew was helping to move a lot of high-grade military tech or something and that it was going to go down tonight. After I got the address of this warehouse, all I needed to know afterwards was how many guys there were going to be here, and how quickly I could take them out without causing any kind of uproar. What I didn't expect was for three supposedly-dead guys to show up with a couple of soldiers and a bunch of kids and start causing said uproar in my place."

"You wanted to do things quietly? You sure you're related to Webs," Logan asked, his skepticism shared by Steve and Thor.

"A lot has changed in regards to what it means to be Spider-Man since you guys had…disappeared," Spider-Man shrugged. "But one thing hasn't changed. The motto we live by: with great power there must also come…"

"Great responsibility," Steve finished. "Wise words from a good man, and ones that the original Spider-Man never once failed to live by everyday of his life."

Spidey just nodded in response to Cap, and was about to say something else when Murrue called their attention over to her. "Looks like we were right. These crates are all filled with Atlantic Federation weaponry and equipment. A lot of it would be used for the construction of something really big," the _Archangel_ captain reported.

"Have you ideas as to what this big thing might be, Captain Ramius," Thor inquired as he and the other three walked over.

Murrue studied the items in the crates closest to her once again for a few moments before she finally replied, "No, I'm afraid not. I may have helped in the development of the Strike and the other G-Weapons, but I'm certainly not that big of a tech expert. All I know is that none of this would be used for constructing a mobile suit or a mobile armor."

"I'm afraid I'm just as clueless on the matter as she is," Natarle admitted, her voice barely that much louder than a whisper. As much as she wanted to deny it, this was proof that her government was aiding Blue Cosmos in their efforts. Sure, she could argue and say that they could have gotten their hands on this without her superiors knowing, but given how all of these crates had items that could only have come from sources that were tied to the Atlantic Federation, it was a little hard for her to do so. Still, she was able to maintain her composure for the moment. Natarle would more than likely end up losing that composure later on when she was somewhere a little more private.

"All right. Take as many pictures as necessary so that we can bring them back to Armory. We'll let him try his hand at figuring out what all of this is for. Once you're done, we'll help Trigger set some explosives and leave," Captain America ordered.

"Wait a minute. What about these guys? We're not just going to leave them here, are we," Spider-Man pointed out, indicating the thugs that they had just been fighting.

"We're at war, kid. We can't avoid casualties of any kind," Natarle tried to point out, and it probably would have been effective if not for two reasons. One, her tone was a little robotic and did not carry all that much strength at the moment, and two, she forgot the kind of person she was talking to.

" _You're_ at war, and with Z.A.F.T., not these guys. They're just criminals. Criminals who were helping terrorists, but all the same, they're not Z.A.F.T.," Spider-Man argued. "I'm not going to let you guys kill them just because it would be easier that way."

"The new Man of Spiders is correct. We cannot simply let these men die for such a small crime," Thor agreed, not noticing how Spider-Man was looking at him like he had said something weird just now.

"He does that," Logan whispered to the kid.

"We'll have to work fast then to move them to a safe distance," Captain America informed everyone, bringing the conversation to a close. "Falcon, you and Archer help Thor get these guys somewhere safe while the rest of us plant those explosives and get pictures of what's in here."

"We're on it," Kira nodded, and he was soon spreading his wings so that he could quickly scoop up as many crooks as possible before flying them away from their current location.

As Kira and Miriallia worked, Spider-Man ended up helping both groups. One reason he was helping evacuate the thugs was because he knew how to dissolve his webbing a lot more quickly. When it came to the matter of the items in the crates, that was something he handled using the digital camera he had tucked away in his belt. Sure, he knew that if he wanted these images to get back to whoever sent Cap and his team, he would have to go with them, but that did not stop him from helping. After all, who in their right mind would refuse to help Captain America? When the team was finally finished with their assignments, Cap waved for everyone to leave the warehouse, and asked Spider-Man to come back to Orb with them so that he could hand over the pictures he had taken. Of course, he also implied that there was something that the kid would want to see in Orb, but even without that incentive, Spider-Man was more than ready to agree, so long as he was brought right back to New York afterwards.

* * *

"This is just…Seriously, you have no idea how unbelievable this is. I mean, my parents, grandparents, and every single one of my ancestors have always had suspicions about what had happened to Spider-Man or even his legacy, but I never thought I'd actually find out the actual story myself, let alone meet the man who had most recently inherited the legacy," Tony gasped for the fourth time at least since the team had returned with Spider-Man in tow. Sure, he had some of the suits and equipment that belonged to the original web-swinger, but he was the first to admit that most of it was just the stuff that Stark had given to the original web-head, had duplicated, or repaired after it was damaged and left behind for whatever reason. More than that, he never once thought he would actually meet someone else who was an actual descendant of such famous heroes, let alone one of the most famous heroes of that era.

"Well that makes us even, because I always figured that the current head of Stark Solutions would be a bit older, but you seem like you're barely even that much older than me," Spider-Man admitted.

"Really? Just how old are you," Mu asked. Like Stark, he was still in a state of awe ever since he saw Spider-Man boarding the Quinjet with the others, and the same could be said of Sai and Kuzzey, though the two boys were unable to give their shock and awe any voice at all since they were too stunned.

Spider-Man glanced around the room for a few minutes before looking directly into the eyes of Cap, Tony, and Logan and asked, "Promise that nothing I reveal or say ever leaves this room?"

"Logan and I have kept your ancestor's civilian identity a secret for years now. You can trust us just as much as he did," Captain America assured the kid.

Spider-Man nodded then reached up, and pulled his mask off, revealing his face to everyone in the room. It was honestly amazing how much the young man looked like his ancestor in Steve, Logan, and Thor's opinions, though he did have slightly longer hair that was much more unkempt than they remembered Peter's ever being. More than that, he looked just about as young as Peter was when he first became Spider-Man, if not at least a year older at most. Also unlike his ancestor, his eyes were a sharp, blue-green color, but they were no less vibrant with that same fire of courage and determination that they had always seen in Peter's eyes when he was about to suit up and get serious about something.

"Hi, I'm Richard Parker, the incredible Spider-Man, and the most recent inheritor of the webs. You can just call me Rick," the newest Spidey revealed.

Everyone just stared at the now-unmasked web-swinger, none of them really knowing what to say, or even what they were more shocked about. Between learning his secret identity and how young he looked, it would have been more surprising if they were not at least a little stunned, so it was easily forgivable that they were all driven into silence by their awe. After a few minutes, Tony finally broke the silence and asked the question that quite a few of them were wondering from the moment that they saw Rick's face. "How old _are_ you? You look like you're barely that much older than me."

"I'm seventeen, thank you very much, and I've been upholding my family legacy since I was thirteen," Rick easily retorted, clearly a little peeved over the question.

"Wait a minute. You said your name was Parker. Like as in Peter Parker," Kuzzey asked, just to make sure he was understanding right. When Rick nodded in reply, the communications specialist of the new Howling Commandos added, "But that means that…the original Spider-Man was…but that doesn't…"

"Wasn't Peter Parker the one who always took Spider-Man's pictures for the Daily Bugle news source," Sai finished for his befuddled friend.

"Yeah, and it was pretty easy for him to do so since he actually was Spidey," Logan revealed in Rick's place. "I always did think it was a little unfair that he made something of a living off of making glorified selfies, even if he was underpaid for most of them."

"Guess my ancestor and I have something in common," Rick revealed, pulling out a digital camera he had stored away in his belt as he did. With a flick of his wrist, he sent the camera flying across the room before landing it in a web that he spun out just seconds later, and he then spun around with a smile as the flash went off a few times, signifying that it had been set to auto-shoot, while the others just gaped in surprise once more. "I've been making a few pictures of my own fights every now and then just cause I wanted to keep some kind of records of my fights. You'd be surprised how much help they can be in keeping New York safe."

"It's actually not as surprising as you'd think son," Steve revealed, having seen just what Peter was able to uncover thanks to his own pictures of his fights. "But I think it's high time you finally tell us the full story."

"The full story about what," Rick asked.

"About what really happened to the legacy of the Man of Spiders, and why it seems that almost no one knows that it lives on to this day," Thor explained, with everyone gathering around to hear as well.

Rick glanced around before he simply sighed and began the tale of his family legacy's change into what it now was today. "It actually started somewhere around the middle to later stages of the original Spider-Man's life. He had gotten seriously hurt in an intense battle against the Vulture, and for some reason, his healing powers were doing nothing to repair the damage. With no other options opened to him, Peter Parker decided to retire, and ended up passing on the mantle of Spider-Man to his protégé, Miles Morales, aka the original Kid Arachnid."

"I remember that kid. From what I heard he was a Spider-Man from another universe or something," Logan remarked.

"Right," Rick nodded before continuing. "Shortly after Peter retired, his daughter, who many knew by the name of Mayday became the protégé of Miles as the new Spider-Girl, officially speaking anyway. Peter gave his daughter as much training as he could in his disabled state, and later on his son, Ben as well, who became the new Kid Arachnid once he was old enough and gained spider powers as well. When Miles finally retired, Mayday had proven herself worthy of becoming the new Spider-Woman, and a couple years or so later, Ben became the new Spider-Man. Afterwards, the mantle continued to pass on through the Parker family, but over time, we started taking a less…obvious approach to fighting bad guys. You see at some point the connections between the Parkers and the various Spider-Heroes that appeared over the years were becoming more and more obvious, and every few years or so, some of us even gained powers that the original Spider-Man didn't have, so we couldn't keep saying that we were the original Spidey even if we wanted to."

"You mean like that lightning blast you used on the guys in the warehouse," Miriallia inquired.

"Yeah. It's really more of a bioelectric blast that I can use to paralyze the guys I touch. I call it my Venom Blasts, much like Miles Morales since he possessed a similar power," Rick confirmed. "Anyways, since there weren't many supervillains running around anymore, it became pretty easy to start disappearing into the shadows, until finally; we managed to make it so that Spider-Man was believed to be just an urban legend. Even so, my family continued to work in the shadows and protect New York, always making sure that we were well aware of the legacy that Peter Parker had started. Not a single Parker alive is unaware of the most notable of Peter's accomplishments and adventures, and none of us have ever stopped living by that one great philosophy that defined his entire career as Spider-Man, and which still does for every Spider-Hero that came after."

"With great power there must also come great responsibility," Steve recited once again.

"So Spider-Man never really died, but he just worked in secret," Kira clarified.

"Pretty much. Not much reason for there to be someone who does whatever a spider can these days, especially with the war between Earth and the PLANTs going on," Rick shrugged.

"I'm not so sure that's the case, Mister Parker," Halberton argued. "As you can clearly see, we've already now recruited the likes of Captain America, Wolverine, and Thor into our ranks, and we're well on our way to gaining a new generation of other heroes from the age of the Avengers. Perhaps we would even have a chance of ending this war even faster with your help."

"He's right," Murrue agreed. "You and your family have pretty much proven that the world will always need Spider-Man, or really just any Spider-Hero, but maybe it's time to step back out of the shadows. We'd be honored if you would join us."

Rick just glanced around for a minute, clearly thinking over what he had just been told. Sure, he could see what they were getting at, and meeting Captain America alone would have proven that they were right in what they were saying, never mind meeting said super soldier, Thor, and Wolverine all at once. Maybe he would be the one who showed the world that there was indeed still a Spider-Hero looking out for it. At the same time, there was also another matter to this whole thing that he could see quite clearly, and he had a strong hunch that the others had not considered it yet. That side was all that he needed to think about in order to make his final decision on what to say to the new Howling Commandos and the _Archangel_ crew. "I appreciate the offer you guys, but I'm afraid my answer is no."

That shocked nearly everyone in the room, with the exception of the three former Avengers, and once she had gotten over said shock, Natarle quickly asked the question they were all wondering. "Any particular reason why you would refuse to help end this war?"

"Look I want to end this war as much as the next guy, because really, the whole reasoning behind it is so beyond stupid that it's not even funny, and yeah, it'd be great to be the one who reveals that Spider-Man is still around while joining up with what's basically turning out to be the Cosmic Era Avengers, but there's something else you have to remember. While you guys are up there fighting all the big fights and bad guys, the little guys and the folks down on the streets are getting overlooked. Criminals are taking advantage of the fact that you aren't paying attention to them and a lot of people are getting hurt because of that. Now maybe I can't do all that much to save the world, but right now, I'm more than happy just doing what I can to make the streets of New York safer. That's just where I belong for the moment. After all, better to start off as just a friendly neighborhood Spider-Man, ya know?"

Hearing Rick's reasoning brought a somber mood into the room, because they all knew he was right. They were handling the big picture stuff, and sometimes, that would make someone forget about what was happening beneath that. Sure, they could not be everywhere at once, but that did not mean that they did not want to do something to help everyone out. Still, they had their mission to attend to, so maybe it was better if Rick stayed closer to the ground, simply because that was where people like him were needed most, at least for now. If anyone was upset with Rick's decision, they did not show it, because more than anything, they felt a lot prouder of him than anything else for being able to make such a big decision like this. True, Steve, Logan, and Thor had expected as such for someone who was a descendant of Peter Parker, but to see that those expectations were being lived up to so soundlessly was another thing entirely, so they just had to smile knowing that Peter was likely grinning widely at the kid for upholding his legacy so well to the letter.

Of course, no one wanted the kid to leave empty handed, or for him to just go without being able to call on them just in case, as proven when Tony walked over with a specialized StarkPhone like the ones that the team was using in hand and said, "Well, just in case you change your mind or if you ever need any help, just give us a call on this, and at the very least, I'll be sure to send some help your way."

Rick looked down at the device for a minute before nodding in thanks and then turning to the Quinjet so he could head back to New York. At least, that is what he would have done had he not decided to stick around for a few more minutes so that he could really take in the entirety of the Hall of Avengers, with Kira and the other younger members of the _Archangel_ Crew eagerly escorting him around. As she watched the kids depart, Murrue could not help but smile widely and commented, "He really seems to think he's carrying the weight of the world on his shoulders. Doesn't feel right to let someone that young do that."

"Maybe, but then again, I think that's just something that runs in his family," Steve smirked, knowingly, earning an amused smile from Murrue and some of the others afterwards. After watching the kids for a few more minutes, Steve turned to leave, offering to escort Murrue back to her ship as he did, and took the moment to say, "You know, you actually did a very impressive job out there during the fight. Maybe I should consider bringing you along on more of these missions." When he realized what he just said and how it probably sounded, he quickly amended, "Well…you and Natarle I mean. Because, you both did very well. Not that one of you did better than the other or anything, I just mean that…"

Murrue could not help but giggle a little at Steve's suddenly flustered state before she thanked him for his words, and while she watched the two go, Natarle could only smile knowingly along with Mu. Both of them knew that the two captains were going to end up getting together sooner rather than later at the rate they were going. They just needed to stop working so hard to really take some time and see that themselves. In order for that to happen though, the lieutenant and the commander figured that they would need to give the pair a little bit of a push to at least stop working themselves nearly to death, and Natarle could not help but feel the need to comment as such. Or at least she would have had she not noticed the mischievous smirk on Mu's face when she turned to face him.

When she inquired about the blonde's reasoning for that look, Mu just grinned at Natarle and quickly started laying out the basics of a plan he had in mind to remedy the situation regarding the two captains, and by the end of his explanation, Natarle doubted that any training in self-control she had over the years could have stopped her from grinning in the same way as the blonde. This had gotten the attention of both Halberton and Stark, who immediately questioned what the two were plotting. By the time that they had pulled it out of the _Archangel_ 's XO and the Hawk of Endymion, they were both smirking excitedly as well, eager to do their own part in helping out with said plan, and if Steve or Murrue had taken notice of the four's expressions right then, they probably would have felt very nervous about whatever they were cooking up. That or they just would have run for the hills in order to avoid giving them the chance to execute whatever they were planning.

* * *

A few hours later, Rick had returned to New York and swung up into his bedroom via the window, shedding his costume as quickly as possible in case anyone who was not related to him came in and saw him. He could still hardly believe everything that had just happened to him that night, and he was just itching to tell his parents about this. Meeting Captain America, Wolverine, and Thor, meeting the elusive CEO of Stark Solutions and finding out about the Hall of Avengers, and of course, seeing the display that was dedicated to the original Spider-Man really had a way of making anyone's day, especially in the case of someone like him. Add in the fact that he had met the guys who were obviously forming a Cosmic Era version of the Avengers, and he was figuratively bouncing off the walls with excitement. Sure, Kira had insisted that he was not going to be taking up the mantle of Falcon full-time, while Sai, Kuzzey, and Tolle all told him that they did not think they were going to be following their other two friends' lead in following a similar path to that of any of the Avengers, but it was plain as day to Rick that those guys were going to be running frontline for the Cosmic Era's new version of that legendary team. It almost made the fact that they had considered him to help with that shocking enough to make him go back and beg them to let him join up. Still, he had his responsibilities to his city, so he knew that he had made the right choice in the end, no matter how much part of him thought that it was stupid to refuse the offer.

He was so excited that he almost missed how a small drone had flown in through his window and dropped off a silver briefcase, and after staring at said briefcase for a minute, Rick was startled to hear his new fancy, state-of-the-art StarkPhone going off to signal that he had just gotten a message from someone. Pulling it out of his belt so that he could read the message, Rick could only stare for a minute as he looked at the message from Tony, which said, _"Figured you might want to hang on to this. After all, it is your birthright. Whenever you feel you're ready, feel free to take it for a swing. Don't bother trying to thank me. After all, us Avenger descendants gotta stick together. –TS."_

Rick looked from the phone to the briefcase back and forth a few more times before he finally stepped over to said briefcase and opened it up. When he did, he could only gaze in awe at what was inside. There, in all of its red-and-blue, web-themed glory was the very same Spider-Suit that Iron Man had given to Peter Parker back when they had first met. Everything from the mask with fancy eyes, to the small, black spider-emblem with four legs on the front of the chest and large, circular red one with six legs on the back was all there. More than that, he also easily found the original, tech web-shooters and the various different formulas that Peter Parker had come up with over the years. Sure, he had copies of those notes just like the rest of his family, but to have the original notes themselves was far from the same thing.

Pulling out both the mask and the web-shooters, Rick could only sport a permanent grin as he looked them over, determined to keep all of this safe until he was ready to possibly wear it himself. For now, he was just going to stick with the suit he had made until a time came when he figured that it was not quite enough. That did not mean he was not going to at least incorporate a few aspects of the original Spider-Man suit into his, and he did not hesitate to start working on doing so as he excitedly began running through the basic functions and features of the web-shooters that Tony had sent him. After all, that night had seen to it that the Cosmic Era was going to be well protected by the incredible, friendly neighborhood Spider-Man.

* * *

 ** _AN: Ta-da! Ladies and gentlemen, give it up for this story's newest OC, Rick Parker, the Incredible Spider-Man!_**

 ** _[audience applause]_**

 ** _Yeah, when it was decided to add Spider-Man in here, I really went all out on making sure that this would be believable. For one thing, he had to be a descendant of Peter Parker, obviously, because I didn't want to make it so that we have another Avengers-era survivor in here, but at the same time, he would still have ties to said hero. Coming up with a civilian name for this Spidey was much easier than coming up with an adjective to add onto his hero name. For those of you who didn't catch it, Rick actually shares a name with Peter Parker's father, but he is always going to be referred to as Rick for a majority of the time, so don't worry about any confusion that may or may not come up later. When it came to deciding how he should be addressed beyond simply Spider-Man (you know, as in names like Spectacular, Amazing, Ultimate, etc), I really had to work at it, because there were only so many different adjectives that we could effectively use here._**

 ** _AXL999: What was one of your other ideas again?_**

 ** _AN: Hmm...I can't actually remember off the top of my head anymore. Anyways, this Spidey's outfit is actually really similar to the one that MCU Spidey wore before he met Iron Man, with the exception of the goggles having different colored lenses, and the emblem on his chest resembling that of the one from the Amazing Spider-Man movies. Also, when coming up with this new history for the web-swinger, I wanted to make sure that it mixed a good deal of elements from the comics into here while still keeping in tune with stuff we've seen in the MCU, which is why the web-shooters that Rick got at the end here are the same ones that Peter received in Captain America: Civil War. That's also why we saw references to Miles Morales, Mayday Parker, and her little brother Benji as well._**

 ** _AXL999: What about that mention of Scarlet Spider earlier on in the chapter? Who was he?_**

 ** _AN: Well, I'll leave that up to you guys as to who exactly the Scarlet Spider in this story's history was. But I will go ahead and tell you that it was either Ben Riley or someone of similar origins and not Miles Morales._**

 ** _AXL999: Still, why give Rick some powers that Peter Parker doesn't have?_**

 ** _AN: Because I've gone with the Peter Parker Spider-Man in just about all of my other stories that he's in so far, and in just about everyone, he's always had the basic powers-set and tech that was typical of any Spider-Man. I wanted to change things up here and give him something a little extra, hence, Venom Blasts. Like it was stated earlier, it's only just at the same level as Miles Morales Spider-Man's, so he's not going to be swinging around using it to blast people from a distance for the most part._**

 ** _AXL999: And on that note, I'd say we've now gotten quite the impressive chapter this time. Really Spidey-centric for a story that's mostly a Captain America &Gundam crossover, but that just makes it better, right?_**

 ** _AN: Exactly. I'm almost sad to say that this may be the only appearance that Rick "Spider-Man" Parker will be making in this story (at least, that's how the plan currently is at this time). But don't worry, that doesn't mean that next chapter won't be full of excitement as well. Excitement, and some juicy little moments in regards to certain characters that is._**

 ** _AXL999: What do you mean by that?_**

 ** _AN: Here's the simple answer: Onto the Preview!..._**

 ** _While Cap, Kira, and the others are all enjoying vast success, others who work behind the scenes are becoming quite irritated with their interference. Major conspirators and dangers lurk in the shadows of this war, plotting and planning for the next encounters they have with the super soldier, while Steve and Murrue find themselves in an unexpected situation. And when a mission comes up during a time when Captain America is unavailable, the new Howling Commandos will finally be granted the chance to truly spread their wings and prove their metal. Next time on Shield of the Cosmic Era…_** **Chapter 16: Various Plots** ** _. Brace yourselves for what awaits beyond the missions, Gundam and Captain America!_**

 ** _Please read and review, and I'll see you next time, Gundam believers!_**


End file.
